
Class ._. 



Book_£l« 



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AS JDJS 



HAND-BOOKS FOB IRELAND. 



DUBLIN 



ASD 



W I C K L W. 



BY MR. AND MRS. S. C. HALL. 



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LONDON; VIRTUE, HALL, & VIRTUE, PATERNOSTER ROW. 

DUBLIN: JAMES McGLASHAN, 50, UPPER SACKVILLE STREET. 

1853. 



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LONDON : 
B. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL 



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GENEKAL ADVERTISEMENT. 




HESE "Hand-Books for Ireland" have been compiled by 
their authors chiefly from their own work>-" Ikeland : its 
Scenery and Character" — written and published by them 
in the years 1841-2 and 3. But they are arranged with 
a view to communicate to the Tourist in that country 
such information as he more immediately needs, in his 
progress — of routes, roads, hotels, charges, distances, conveyances, &c. &c. ; 
with descriptions of the objects and places of attraction he will neces- 
sarily visit and inspect, and concerning which he will specially desire 
*_ knowledge. With a view, therefore, to this essential duty, the authors 
revisited in 1852 the several places they have described; and, in 1853, these 
Books have been revised generally. 

The leading purpose of the authors is to induce visits to Ireland. Those who 
require relaxation from labour, or may be advised to seek health under the 
influence of a mild climate, or search for sources of novel and rational amusement, 
or draw from change of scene a stimulus to wholesome excitement, or covet 
acquaintance with the charms of Nature, or wish to study a people full of original 
character — cannot project an excursion to any part of Europe that will afford 
a more ample recompense. 

To the English, therefore, a country in which they cannot fail to be deeply 
interested, holds out every temptation the traveller can need. A cordial and 
hearty welcome will be given, at all times and in all places, to the " stranger," 
who will there journey in security such as he can meet in no other portion of the 
globe. Ireland will, unquestionably, supply every means of enjoyment that may 
be obtained in any of the Continental kingdoms, and without calling for the 
sacrifices of money and comfort that will be exacted in Germany, Switzerland, 
France, and Italy. 



GENERAL ADVERTISEMENT. 



The authors of these volumes will indeed rejoice if their statements be the 
means of inducing English travellers to direct their course westward, knowing 
well, that for every new visitor, Ireland will obtain a new friend. 

To other inducements, may be added those which now arise from facilities 
for travelling with ease and comfort. Dublin is barely twelve hours distant from 
London : a railroad conveys to Holyhead ; and the Channel is crossed in large and 
commodious steam-ships in less than four hours. Through all the leading dis- 
tricts there are railways ; the inns, throughout, are for the most part comfortable ; 
and even where discomfort has to be endured, it will be deprived of annoyance 
by the knowledge that efforts have been, or will be, exerted to remove it. 

And something may be said of the comparatively small cost at which the tour 
may be made. " Tourist Tickets " are now annually issued at a cost of between 
four and six pounds. These Tourist Tickets are always considered — at the 
stations, the hotels, and, indeed, everywhere — as letters of introduction : they give 
assurance of "a stranger," who is proverbially, in Ireland, secure of kind and 
courteous treatment; moreover, the ticket is a contract to avoid delays on all 
routes — the first places upon occasions of difficulty of right belonging to the 
holders of these tickets. Independently, therefore, of the very great saving of 
expense, all Tourists in Ireland should obtain "Tourist Tickets." 

The four Hand-Books consist of : — 
No. 1. Dublin and Wicklow. 
No. 2. The North and Giant's Causeway. 
No. 3. The South and Killarnet. 
No. 4. The "West and Connamara. 

They may be obtained, either together or separate, of any bookseller in the 
Kingdom, price 5s. each, or 20s. the Four Volumes. 

*% The Authors will be much obliged by receiving any corrections to these 
volumes, or any suggestions for their improvement. 



THE 



TOUB TO DUBLIN AND WICKLOW. 




VOYAGE to Ireland is, at present, very different from 
what it was, within onr memory, before the application of 
steam had made its duration a matter of certainty, and 
enabled the traveller to calculate without reference to wind 
or tide. "The sailing-packet" was a small trader — schooner, 
or sloop; the cabin, of very limited extent, was lined with "berths;" 
a curtain portioned off those that were appropriated to ladies. In 
the centre was a table — seldom used, the formality of a dinner being 
a rare event ; each passenger having laid in his own supply of " sea 
store," to which he resorted when hungered or athirst; finding, however, 
very often, when his appetite returned, that his basket had been impoverished 
by the visits of unscrupulous voyagers who were proof against sea-sickness. 
The "steward" was almost invariably an awkward boy, whose only recom- 
mendation was the activity with which he answered the calls of unhappy 
sufferers ; and " the voyage across " was a kind of purgatory for the time 
being, to be endured only in cases of absolute necessity. It was not alone the 
miserable paucity of accommodation, and utter indifference to the comfort of 
passengers, that made the voyage an intolerable evil. Its duration was 
always uncertain : what with " waiting " for a fair wind, " putting back," and 
other sea casualties, weeks were frequently expended between one port and 
another. Under such circumstances it is not surprising that comparatively 



VI INTRODUCTION. 



little intercourse existed between the two islands, or that England and 
Ireland were almost as much strangers to each other as if the channel that 
divided them had been actually impassable. 

The introduction of steam has made them, as it were, one island : the voyage 
across is now scarcely more fatiguing than a journey to Edinburgh : and in the 
large and comfortable steam-ships, which ply daily between the two countries, 
the traveller sustains little more inconvenience or annoyance, than he must 
do if the tunnel over the Menai Straits extended all the way from Holyhead 
to Kingstown. 

Railroads and steam-boats have, in fact, so much facilitated intercourse 
between the people of Ireland and of England, that they are now at all events 
known to each other. But they have produced advantages of far greater 
import ; inasmuch as they have largely contributed to develop and increase 
the resources of Ireland, and to improve the moral and social condition of its 
people. The Irish of all grades and degrees very generally visit England. 
The higher orders have always done so ; but the middle classes now-a- 
days do so to a considerable extent — becoming their own merchants, and 
buying and selling as their own agents. Hence they obtain a knowledge of 
men and manners ; naturally shrewd and inquisitive, they look around them as 
they travel along; their curiosity is excited; they inquire and examine, and 
take back with them notions of improvement and of the profit to be derived 
therefrom, which they not only turn to account, but disseminate among their 
neighbours. As will therefore be expected, a material change for the better 
has taken place throughout Ireland — perceptible even in the remotest districts, 
but very apparent in the vicinity of sea-port towns. The very lowest class, 
perhaps, has not yet felt the full benefit of this movement, but every grade 
above that class has essentially advanced ; in all respects the people of Ireland 
are gradually but certainly assimilating with the people of England. 

Hitherto, however, although steam has so largely aided in inducing visits 
from Ireland to England, visitors to Ireland from England have not, in the 
same ratio, increased. Happily, many of the causes that produced this evil 
exist no longer, and others are rapidly disappearing. It will be our leading 



INTRODUCTION. 



object in this publication to induce the English to see and judge for themselves, 
and not to incur the reproach of being better acquainted with the Continent 
than they are with a country in which they cannot fail to be deeply interested, 
and which (we repeat what we have said elsewhere) holds out to them every 
temptation the traveller can need — a people rich in original character, scenery 
abundant in the wild and beautiful, a cordial and hearty welcome for the 
stranger, and a degree of economy and security in his journeyings, such as h 
can meet in no other portion of the globe. This opinion is indeed becoming 
so general, that for one visitor to Ireland twenty years ago, there are now 
perhaps one hundred ; and the fascinations of Killarney, the marvels of the 
Giant's Causeway, the sublimities of Connamara, and the graceful beauties of 
Wicklow County, are becoming familiar themes to English travellers. The 
natural consequence has been that prejudices have given way : that the Irish 
are no longer regarded with indifference by their more prosperous brethren : 
but that there exists throughout England a universal desire that Ireland shall 
participate in all the advantages which England enjoys. We cannot too often 
express our belief— based upon long experience — that in every new visitor 
Ireland obtains a new friend. 

The usual routes to Ireland are either by Holyhead to Dublin : by Liverpool 
to Dublin : or by Bristol to Cork or Waterford : the advantage of the first 
named route is, obviously, the shortness of the sea voyage — which occupies no 
more than four hours. The railway carriage deposits the Tourist on the quay 
at Holyhead : and the steam vessel places him on the quay at Kingstown, from 
which the railway conveys him (seven miles) to Dublin. 

In this book we have endeavoured to furnish him with all the information 
he requires concerning the capital of Ireland, and its many attractions. The 
Hotels are, almost as a matter of course, similar to those of England : those 
which the English most generally frequent, and which are universally considered 
"the best," are "the Gresham" and "Morrison's;" but Hotels are sufficiently 
numerous to receive and "comfort" travellers of all grades. We believe our 
volume will furnish ample information upon all the topics necessary for the 
pleasant progress of the Tourist. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Erom. Dublin it has been our pleasant duty to guide the Tourist into the 
far-famed and very beautiful County of Wicklow. Not the least of the 
inducements to this tour will be its facility : the principal points of attraction 
in Wicklow are within a few hours' drive of the Metropolis ; yet we may not 
omit to state that many parts of it vie with Killarney for beauty, and with 
" the West " for sublimity : and that if the time of the Tourist will admit 
of no more extended excursion, he will be amply compensated for his labour 
even by a circuit, made in a drive of one day, taking in the Scalp, Ennis- 
kerry, Powerscourt, the Waterfall and Dargle — returning to Dublin by Bray ; 
or a two-day tour, taking the morning coach through Bray, the Glen of the 
Downs and Vale of Avoca, to Arklow — returning next day by Glendalough.* 



* The distances from Dublin of the principal " Lions " of Wicklow are these :— the miles being 
all English miles. 
Ashford. — 29 miles. 

(In its vicinity are the Hotel at Newrath Bridge, and The Devil's Glen.) 
Arklow — 50. 

(The meeting of the waters being on the high road, which runs seven miles through 
the Vale of Avoca.) 
Bray— 12 miles. 

(From which there is a by-road to Enniskerry, the Dargle, Powerscourt, &c.) 
Delgany — 18. 

(Passing through the glen of the Downs, which is the high-road.) 
Enniskerry— 12. 

(In the vicinity are Powerscourt, the Dargle, Waterfall, and Tinahinch, on 
the high road to which from Dublin is the Scalp — 10 \ miles.) 
Newtown-Mount-Kennedy — 22. 

(In this neighbourhood are Dunran, and the Hermitage at Altadore. 

ROUNDWOOD — 23. 

(The turn to Luggela commences within 4 miles of Roundwood, and Luggela is 

distant 3 miles out of the main road. Luggela is thus 21 miles from Dublin: and 

Glendalough, the turn to which commences at Roundwood, is distant 5 miles 

from that village, being thus distant from Dublin 28 miles.) 

A glance at the map will show that Enniskerry, Roundwood, Luggela, and Glendalough are in 

one line of road : and on another are Bray, Delgany, Newtown-Mount-Kennedy, Ashford, Rathnew, 

Rathdrum and Arklow— including Dunran, the Devil's-Glen, and the Meeting of the Waters in the 

Vale of Avoca. There are of course cross roads from these high roads, leading for example from 

Bray to Enniskerry, from Glendalough to the Devil's Glen, and so forth. 

It has been announced that Powerscourt (the Deer Park and Waterfall) will be open to the 

public on the Mondays and Tuesdays only of each week, and the Dargle every day except Sunday. 

The Devil's Glen is not open to the public on Sunday : visitors are admitted every other day on 

entering their names in a book kept at the lodge of Mr. Tottenham. Generally, private domains 

are closed to the public on Sundays, al hough for the most part freely open on other days. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Perhaps his enjoyment will not be lessened, but enhanced, by finding that, 
\: for the greater part, these trips must be made on one of the " cars " of the 
country, for although there are numerous public conveyances on the coach line 
of road to Arklow, the advantages to be gained by travelling with them will 
chiefly be, to attain more speedily the starting points for visiting the objects of 
attraction that lie off the highway.* 

At Bray, twelve miles from Dublin, the Tourist enters the County 
Wicklow, and so far he may choose a variety of conveyances, from the humble 
car to the luxurious railway carriage, — as the line through Dundrum is now 
rapidly approaching completion. 

Before proceeding further, we shall request the Tourist to pause and 
accompany us in an imaginary flight to an elevation from which he can have 
a bird's-eye glance that may be of use to him ; whence, descending, he must lay 
aside his wings, and again take to such modes of locomotion as chance or 
choice may throw in his way. 

Looking south and along the coast, Bray Head is in the foreground, round 
the bold sea-side of which, at a height of one hundred feet above high water, 
runs the railway now making to Wicklow, a piece of engineering, at this point, 
which if equalled is not surpassed in the kingdom for the daring of the 
undertaking — the cuttings and tunnellings opening glimpses of terrific 
grandeur, whether we look down on the restless surge, or up the almost 
perpendicular height of some hundreds of feet : but having rounded the 

* There are about fourteen or fifteen public carriages from Dublin into Wicklow; all of 
which run every day (Sundays excepted) : these consist of mail coaches, omnibuses, cars, mail- 
cars, stage cars, and vans: the day coach to Wexford leaves the office in Sackville Street at half 
past 7 o'clock, passing through Bray (from Dublin 12 miles), Delgany(l 8), Newtown Mount Kennedy 
(22), Ashford (27), Rathnew (30), Rathdrum (38), and Arklow (50). It arrives at Arklow at 40 
minutes past 1 o'clock : thus, as will be seen, visiting the leading beauties of the county. The 
Arklow omnibus leaves Dublin daily at 1 o'clock, and arrives at Arklow at 8 o'clock. Arklow 
may be regarded as the extreme of the county. Information upon all needful points will of course 
be obtained in Dublin. But, we repeat, a private " post car " will be found by far the most desirable 
mode of conveyance: Glendalough, the "Devil's Glen," and the other " Lions " of the county 
cannot, indeed, be visited in any other way. Those who are not compelled to hasten through the 
tour, will do well to hire a horse and car in Dublin, which will convey them through the whole of 
the Tourist's route, and prevent any danger of delay at points on the road — in consequence of the 
car being " out." 

Duplin. 



INTRODUCTION. 



" Head " a lovely landscape stretches away by the sea-shore, leaving little 
more to exercise the skill of the engineer until he arrives at Wicklow. 

Over Bray Head and along the shore to Arklow lies the " sea-side " road, 
seldom travelled by the Tourist, being very hilly, and not passing through or 
near any of the "celebrities," though not devoid of points of prospects of 
great beauty. It passes through the villages of Kilcool, Newcastle, and 
Ratline w into Wicklow ; on this line, three miles before reaching Wicklow, 
is the Newrath Bridge Hotel, delightfully situated and a favourite rest, but 
it may be easily arrived at from the mail-coach road, which shall presently be 
the subject of our second flight. From Wicklow to Arklow "'on the "sea- 
side " road there is nothing to interest the lover of the picturesque. 

Arklow being the furthest point to which we shall lead the traveller, we 
return to Bray* and follow the mail-coach road, which may be distinguished as 
the highway to the same terminus ; following the river Bray, which it crosses 
at St.Valory near the Dargle, and passing Holybrook, it lies at the feet of and 
between the grea/fc and little Sugarloaf Hills, and then through the glen of the 
Downs, New-Town-Mount-Kennedy, by Dunran and the Devil's Glen, takes 
a more westerly or inland direction to Rathdrum, after which, descending into 
the Vale of Avoca at the Meeting of the Waters, under Castle Howard, it 
keeps the river- side by the Coppermines, Avoca Hotel, Newbridge, Wooden 
Bridge Hotel; and with the wooded heights of Ballyarthur and Shelton Abbey 
on the left, and of Glenart on the right, we again arrive at Arklow. 

Again at Bray, and turning more to the west, observe the "Roundwood 
road " enter the county Wicklow through the Scalp, passing through Ennis- 
kerry, by the Dargle, Powerscourt, Tinnehincli, Bushy Park, Charleville, and 
the Waterfall, ascend the west side of the great Sugarloaf until you reach the 
table land on which stands Roundwood, at this side of which, that road over 
the hill to the right leads to Luggela, and from Roundwood village another 
in the same direction leads to Lough Dan; now passing by Derrylossory 

* We have made Bray the starting point, for here the best horses and carriages will he found ; 
and here also is one of the best Hotels of the kingdom : some Tourists will take the Enniskeny 
Road; Enniskerry is five miles from Bray; and a good road joins them. 



INTRODUCTION. x [ 



Church and through Annamoe, we reach Lara Barrack, at the entrance of the 
gloomy valley, in which stand the ruins of "the Seven Churches." The road 
here keeps the banks of the river Avonmore down the Yale of Clara ; and 
passing through Rathdrum crossing the mail-coach line leads through Avon- 
dale, until entering the Vale of Avoca at " the Meeting of the Waters," we 
are again on the coach line of road. 

Once more back to Brav, pass your eye over Enniskerry until it rest at 
the head of the Valley of Glencree, on the "Military Road," crossing 
to the left under that crater-looking hollow near the summit, in which 
lies the mountain tarn called Lough Bray. That grey pile under the road 
is all that remains of Glencree Barrack ; and that Swiss cottage on the bank 
of Lough Bray is the mountain lodge of Sir Philip Crampton, Bart. Prom 
this the Military road lies over a vast tract of mountain, at an elevation 
above the sea of two or three thousand feet, and for some twelve miles there 
is neither tree nor enclosure — the only trace of a human hand being the 
well-made road. About two miles beyond Lough Bray it crosses the first 
gathering of the mountain streams that here take the name of " the Liffey." 
Shortly after, a narrow road crosses our path, that to the right leading to 
Blessington and that to the left to Luggela. Ascending the heights west of 
Luggela and Lough Dan, the Military road is carried on to Glenmacanass, 
where one of those streams peculiar to such districts rushes over the steep 
rocky declivity that abruptly terminates this secluded dell. Descending into 
the glen, the road following the stream reaches Lara Barrack, where crossing 
the Roundwood route it ascends through the woods of Derrybawn, between 
Glendalough and Glenmalure ; it descends into the latter, where we find the 
third of the Barracks on the line ; and now on the banks of the Avonbeg we 
follow its course until again we are at the Meeting of the Waters. 

These constitute the leading roads in which the pleasure Tourist is interested, 
but another glance will convince him that the deviations from these may be 
multiplied in an almost endless variety ; information concerning them should 
be sought for, and will be obtained, at the Hotels. 

At all the principal points are comfortable Inns : guides of the plea- 



Xll 



INTRODUCTION. 



and 



santest and most " original " order will conduct him to " the Lions : 
he will have to endure no fatigue that can diminish his enjoyment. 

We hope that few will visit Ireland only to see its capital and the 
neighbouring county : but even those whose purpose may be thus limited will 
be amply and largely recompensed for time well spent — instruction that may 
be profitable, and labour that is relaxation. 

It will be well here to remind the Tourist, that he should always be prepared 
for rain ; and that in his carpet-bag there should invariably be a Macintosh, 
especially if he be travelling in mountain districts : for sunny June is no more 
to be trusted than showery April. Some one has said that the only day on 
which you can be certain to escape a wetting is the 30th of February ; a day 
that never comes : and it is recorded of Mr. Fox, we believe, that whenever he 
received a. visitor from Ireland, after his own brief tour in the country, his 
invariable question was, " By the way, is that shower over yet ? " This is, 
undoubtedly, a sad drawback upon pleasure ; the humidity of the atmosphere 
is a continual affliction to those who are not used to it, and is very insufficiently 
compensated for by the fact that the grass in Ireland is, consequently, ever green. 
Yet the evil is one that can be always guarded against. 

We may not close this division of our Guide Books, without giving expres 
sion to the gratitude which all Tourists will feel towards those noblemen and 
gentlemen— of Wicklow County especially — who freely open the gates of their 
demesnes to all travellers; and who in other ways study the comforts, while 
promoting the enjoyments, of visitors to the beautiful district. 

How often as we traversed the level lawns and wooded glens, to which the 
generous owners gladly give the stranger free access, have the appropriate 
lines of Cowper been brought to mind : — 

" The folded gates would bar my progress now, 
But that the lord of this enclosed demesne, 
Communicative of the good he owns, 
Admits me to a share ; the guiltless eye 
Commits no wrong, nor wastes what it enjoys." 




AND THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY 

Eng Us-h Miles. 
1 2 3 4- 5 < 



London : Virtue .Hall & Virtue. 




F the world, few cities — and, perhaps, none in 
Great Britain — are so auspiciously situated as the 
city of Dublin. The ocean rolls its waves within 
ten miles of the quays ; the Bay is at once safe, 
commodious, and magnificent, with every variety of 
coast, from the soft beach of sand to the rough 
sea promontory, from the undulating slope to the 
terrific rock; and several lighthouses guide the 
vessels into harbour. On one side is the rich pasture-land of Meath ; on the 
other are the mountains and valleys of Wicklow. The splendid range of 
Wicklow Mountains can be seen from nearly the centre of the city. A 
noble river flows through it. Breezes from the ocean and the hills both 
contribute to keep it healthy ; and scenery of surpassing beauty is within an 
hour's walk of its crowded streets. But no description of Dublin can so aptly 
and pithily characterise it as the few quaint lines of old Stamhurst, who says, 
in tracing its origin to the sea-king Avellanus, and giving him credit for wisdom 
in selecting so advantageous a site : — " The seat of this city is of all sides 
pleasant, comfortable, and wholesome : if you would traverse hills, they are not 
far off; if champaign ground, it lieth of all parts; if you be delighted with 
fresh water, the famous river called the Liffey runneth fast by ; if you will 
take a view of the sea, it is at hand." 



DUBLIN. 



In population and size, Dublin is the second city of the British empire, and 
ranks as the seventh of Europe ; it is somewhat above three miles long in a 
direct line from east to west, and of nearly equal breadth from north to south. 
It is encompassed by a " circular road," in extent about eleven English miles ; 
in 1841 the population amounted to 232.726 ; and in 1851, to 258,261— thus 
leaving a considerable increase, notwithstanding the check which had arisen 
from " the famine," and the many miseries that followed in its train.* It 
contains above 800 streets, and 22,000 houses. It is situated at the western 
extremity of Dublin Bay ; and the river Liffey, which rises among the Wicklow 
mountains, runs through it ; increased by the King's Biver, the Dodder, and the 
Tolkan ; but these three rivers are of minor importance. The Liffey is crossed 
by nine bridges, seven of stone and two of iron, and is embanked on each side 
along the whole range of the city, a length of 2| miles, by quays faced with 
granite. The city occupies a space of 1,264 acres ; originally it was confined 
within walls to the hill upon which the Castle now stands. These walls were 
not above a mile in circumference. Its increase during the past century 
was very considerable ; but since the Union, its extent has been very little 
augmented ; and the mansions of the nobility have, almost without exception, 
been converted into hotels, public offices, charitable asylums, or schools. The 
Corporation consists of a lord mayor, aldermen, and common council. The 
title of Lord Mayor was bestowed on the chief magistrate by Charles I. in 
1641. The city returns two Members to the Imperial Parliament ; and two 
are also returned for the "University. Dublin is the seat of the Vice-regal 
government. Its first charter was granted by Henry the Second, a.d. 1173 — 
" to the men of Bristol." The ecclesiastical province of Dublin, over which 
the Archbishop presides, comprehends the dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough, 
Kildare, Ossory, Eerns, and Leighlin. Dublin contains two cathedrals — Christ 
Church and St. Patrick's. The number of vessels belonging to the port in 
1851 was, including steamers and vessels of every size, from 15 to 1,200 
tons, 448. Most of these vessels were engaged in the coasting or channel 
trade, six or eight only being employed in the West India trade, the same 
number in that of Erance and the Spanish Peninsula, and from twenty to thirty 
in the North American timber trade. The export trade has long been con- 

* In 1682, the number of inhabitants was 64,843; in 1728, 146,075; in 1753, 128,570; in 1777, 
138,208; in 1798, 182,370. 



BAY OP DUBLIN. 



siderable in the usual articles of Irish commerce — cattle, cured meat, corn, 
leather, &c. ; but its import trade was, until lately, very limited. Recently, 
laudable efforts have been made by some of the most enterprising of the 
Dublin merchants, to extend their transactions abroad. Several cargoes of tea 
from China have been imported directly to Dublin, and importations have also 
taken place from Calcutta and the Mauritius, and on a more extensive scale 
from the West Indies, all with the most favourable results to the enterprising 
merchants engaged in them. But the improvement of the port of Dublin may 
perhaps be best judged from the increased amount of customs duties paid on 
articles for home consumption. From 1821 to 1832 the receipts were nearly 
stationary at about 600,000/. ; in 1850 they had increased to 874,943/. 



LORIOUS is the impression of Ireland conveyed to the 
eye and mind upon approaching the noble and beautiful 
Bay op Dublin ! It is, indeed, inexpressibly lovely ; and 
on entering it after a weary voyage, the heart bounds with 
14 enthusiasm at the sight of its capacious bosom, enclosed 
by huge rocks, encompassed in turn by high and pic- 
turesque mountains. To the south, varied into innumerable forms, 
are the "Wicklow Hills;" but nearer, rising, as it were, out of the 
surface of old Ocean, is the ever-green island of Dalkey. To the 
north, a bolder coast is commenced by the "Hill of Howth,"* on a 
leading pinnacle of which stands the most picturesque of the Irish 
beacons ; at the other side of the promontory is seen a village, with 
another lighthouse, a martello tower, an ancient abbey, and a calm, though 
now deserted, harbour — for so long a period the landing-place upon Irish 
ground.f 

* " The bold and nearly insulated promontory called the Hill of Howth," writes Mr. Petrie, 
"which forms the north-eastern terminus of the Bay of Dublin, would in itself supply abundant 
materials for a topographical volume — and a most interesting work it might be made. For the 
geologist, botanist, and naturalist, it has an abundant store of attractions ; while its various 
ancient monuments of every class and age, from the regal fortress, the sepulchral cairn, and the 
cromleac of Pagan times, to the early Christian oratory, the abbey and the baronial hall of later 
years, would supply an equally ample stock of materials for the antiquary and the historian." 

t The harbour was for a series of years the station for the Dublin packets. It was constructed 
at a cost to the country of nearly half a million sterling; having been commenced in 1807, and 




HOWTH HARBOUR. 



And if the Tourist will " step ashore " at Howth, he may, before he is half 
an hour in Ireland, visit some of the most striking and interesting objects in 




HOWTH HARBOUR. 

the country : — a ruined church, a very ancient castle, some druidic remains, 
a village, dignified with the name of " town," essentially Irish in its half- 
desolate character ; and, standing beside the wall that surrounds the Bailey 
lighthouse, he may gaze over the wide ocean, or, looking to the right, admire 
the beautiful scenery that borders Dublin Bay ; while, on the left, are the famous 
little island called "Ireland's Eye;" beyond it, the renowned isle of Lambay; 
and, some forty miles north of the spot on which he stands, the clearly-defined 
and bold outlines of the Mourne mountains. Let us first enter the ancient 

completed in two years, under the superintendence of the late John Rennie, Esq. : but since the 
construction of Kingstown Harbour, that of Howth has been entirely deserted. Howth is 
connected with Dublin by a short railroad, upon which trains are constantly running, and the 
price charged is extremely moderate. 



HOWTH. ABBEY. 



Abbey of Howth ; and postpone our progress up the Liffey awhile, to notice 
its romantic history, and that of its heroic founders, whose descendants still 
hold the lands they won with their swords ; retaining for above six hundred 
years the property they acquired, "without increase or diminution" — and, 
observes Dr. Walsh, in his valuable History of Dublin, " we may also add, 
without improvement or alteration." The abbey, or rather church — for of its 




HOWTH ABBEY. 

monastic rank there are no authentic proofs— is dedicated to the Virgin, and 
is said to have been erected by the St. Lawrences early in the thirteenth 
century : here, from time to time, the mortal remains of the " bold barons " 
have been laid, and the aisles are crowded with relics that bear records of their 
prowess * The church, like many of the sacred edifices erected in " troublous 

* The original name of the family is said to have been Tristram— and its great founder a knight 
of the "Round Table." The name was changed in consequence of the vow of one of its 
members who fought with the Danes at Clontarf, to assume that of his patron saint, if he 
obtained the victory. This he did, and was thence called St. Lawrence. In the year 1177, when 
Sir John de Courcy was commanded into Ireland, he entered into an agreement with Sir 
Armoricus Tristram, a worthy knight, and his brother-in-law, that " whatever they should win 
in any land, either by service or otherwise, they should divide between them." They lauded at 



ORATORY OF ST. FENTON. 



times," was constructed for defence as well as for purposes of religion. It is 
defended on one side by a battlemented rampart, which impends over the sea, 
and on the other by a deep fosse. Of the ancient " college " there are some 
remains — a hall, a kitchen, and a few cells. The ruins of another building 
f ^ I SI ^ — a little oratory dedicated to 

St. Eenton — exist a little to 
the west of the castle. Howth 
Castle, for so many ages the 
residence of the noble family, 
retains but little of its original 
character. It has been al- 
tered at various periods, ac- 
cording to the wishes or wants 
of its proprietors, and with far 
more regard to convenience 
than to architectural skill or 
beauty. The small square 
tower called Corr Castle, is 
the only portion of the ancient 
oratory of st. FhNioN. structure that now remains. 

Howth, where they were opposed by the Irish, whom they defeated. The victory being mainly 
attributable to the valour and skill of Amorey, the title and lands of Howth were allotted to 
him; but they were dearly purchased, for he lost in the encounter "seven sons, uncles, and 
nephews." The bridge of Evora, where the battle is said to have been fought, crosses a 
mountain stream, that falls into the sea on the north side of Howth, nearly opposite the west 
end of Ireland's Eye. In clearing out the foundation for the new parish church, erected a few 
years ago near this spot, a quantity of bones were discovered scattered over an extensive space ; 
and, in the neighbourhood, an antique anvil, with bridle-bits and other parts of horse harness. 
The knights continued their conquests in various parts of Ireland; but in 1189, on the recall of 
De Courcy from the government, the Irish resolved upon an effort to regain their country. Sir 
Amorey being then in Connaught, was advertised, by letters from De Courcy, of his removal and 
danger, and desired to hasten to his assistance : accordingly, he set out, attended by thirty 
knights and two hundred footmen, in order to join his friend; but O'Conor, king of Connaught, 
understanding his design, assembled all his forces to intercept his march, and, unperceived, 
surrounded his devoted band. Sir Amorey animated his men resolutely to attack the enemy ; 
but the horsemen seeming inclined to preserve themselves by flight, he cried out, " Who will may 
save his life by flight on horseback if he can, but assuredly my heart will not suffer me to leave 
these, my poor friends, in their necessity, with whom I would sooner die in honour than live 
with you in dishonour." At the same time he thrust through his horse with his sword, saying, 
"He should never serve against them with whom he had so worthily and truly served before." 
His example was followed by all the horsemen, except two young gentlemen, whom he ordered 




IRELAND S EYE. 



The more modem residence is a long battlemented building, flanked by towers at 
the extremities, and approached by a long flight of steps * 

"Ireland's Eye" is a small island, about a mile from the northern shore of 
Howth ; in the centre of which is the ruin of a church dedicated to St. Nessan. 




ST. NiibSAN S CHURCH. 

to stand on the next hill to see the battle, and after it was over to carry the news to his brother; 
which they accordingly did, and testified all the circumstances of the transaction. This done, 
he engaged the enemy, said to be twenty thousand strong, so desperately, that one thousand were 
slain; but being overpowered by numbers, he and his party perished to a man. "Thus," — say 
the old chroniclers, — " thus died Sir Amorey Tristram, who, among a thousand knights, might 
be chosen for beauty and heroic courage — for humility and courtesy to his inferiors — yielding to 
none but in the way of gentleness." Such is the history of the first Baron Howth ; there never 
was an attainder in the family ; and the present Earl is the twenty-ninth representative of the 
ancient barony. 

* The Castle contains several interesting relics of antiquity ; among others, the sword with 
which Sir Tristram is said to have won the victory at Clontarf, and the bells which formerly 
belonged to the abbey. " These bells," writes Dr. Walsh, "were discovered by accident." When 
the new church — a pretty and graceful structure — was built, and it became necessary to provide 
a bell for it, some one called to mind a tradition that the old ones existed somewhere about the 
castle. They were sought for and found; and, very properly, preserved by Lord Howth as 
objects of curiosity. They are " about two feet and a half in height, and one foot and a half in 
diameter at the base." A singular and romantic legend is attached to Howth Castle. We 
borrow it from Dr. Walsh. "The celebrated Grana Uille, or Grace O'Malley, noted for her 
piratical depredations in the reign of Elizabeth, returning on a certain time from England, 
v/here she had paid a visit to the virgin queen, landed at Howth, and proceeded to the castle. It 
was the hour of dinner — but the gates were shut. Shocked at an exclusion so repugnant to her 
notions of Irish hospitality, she immediately proceeded to the shore where the young lord was at 
nurse, and seizing the child, she embarked with him, and sailed to Connaught, where her own 
castle stood. After a time, however, she restored the child; with the express stipulation that 



KINGSTOWN. 



The church was very small, about twelve feet by twenty-four in the interior ; 
the walls, composed of rough pebbles and fragments of flint, give evidence of 
the most remote antiquity. There are no traces of windows ; and a great 
peculiarity in its structure is, that the porch and bell-tower are at the east end ; 
this porch is vaulted — the arch (semicircular) is composed of squared blocks of 
that description of stone called calpe, which is said to be almost peculiar to the 
district of Dublin, and must have been brought from the main-land — the stones 
are regularly arranged and well cemented* 




ETURNING to the Bay, and leaving to the left the pretty 

island of Dalkey, we enter the channel, between two huge 

sand-banks, called, from the perpetual roariDg of the sea that 

rolls over them, "the Bulls," north and south. The place 

of ordinary debarkation is Kingstown, formerly Dunleary, 

which received its modern name in honour of His Majesty 

George the Fourth, who took ship-board here on leaving Ireland in 

1821. To commemorate the event of the king's visit, an obelisk was 

erected on the spot where he last stood ; with an inscription setting 

forth the fact. The harbour of Kingstown is safe, commodious, and 

exceedingly picturesqucf Erom the quay at which the passengers 

the gates should be thrown open when the family went to dinner — a practice which is observed 
to this day." 

* The view from this tiny island is magnificent in the extreme. We borrow a description of 
it from an anonymous writer : — " Placed exactly opposite the harbour of Howth, the rugged 
promontory of Dun Crimthem appears to the left, breasting the surge in all its savage grandeur — 
the modern railroad now winding up its steep declivity — in front the lighthouse, harbour, town, 
and ruined abbey church — backed by the serried mountain ridge. To the right, the proud 
baronial castle of the St. Lawrences, embosomed in wood, from which the modest steeple of the 
parish church peeps forth — the hill gradually sinking, or abruptly breaking down into the low 
neck that joins it to the highly cultivated level of Fingal— that level dotted with its marks of 
human life — the shore trending away to the west and north, on which appears the fishing village 
of Baldoyle, with its tiny fleet of hookers — the bay, enlivened by the glancing sails of the fleet 
cutter, or surged by the propelling wheels of the rapid steamer ; while over and beyond, to the 
south, rise the Wicklow mountains, their bases hazy and indistinct from the smoke of thousands 
of habitations, and their indented summits seeming to blend and to harmonise with the blue 
sky above them — altogether forming a panorama of unrivalled beauty and magnificence." 

t The first stone of this extensive, and expensive, work was laid in 1817, by Lord Whitworth, 
then Viceroy of Ireland. " The pier," according to the Picture of Dublin, " extends 2,800 feet, 
and is at the base two hundred feet in breadth ; it terminates in a nearly perpendicular face on 
the side of the harbour, and an inclined plane towards the sea. A quay fifty feet wide runs along 



OBELISK AT KINGSTOWN. 



in- 



land, the railway carnages 
start, and convey passengers, 
a distance of seven miles, in 
about twenty minutes to tlic 
terminus, within a few hun- 
dred yards of the centre 
of the city;* leaving to the 
right a long and narrow range 
of stone-work, known as the 
South Wall, which runs for 
above three miles into the sea, 
and nearly midway in which is 
an apology for a battery, called 
" the Pigeon-house," — but 
keeping in sight all the way 
the opposite coast, speckled 
with villages, and beautifully 
varied by alternate hill and 
dale. Perhaps there is no 
railway in the world, of simi- 
lar extent, which opens out so 
many fine sea views ; and the 

Tourist will be, of a surety, pleased with the aspect of the country on his first 
landing there. It is probable, also, that primitive " Irish character " will meet 
him on the Quay ; for he will be pretty sure to encounter some " originals " 
among the porters and car-drivers who greet him as he steps ashore. 

the summit, protected by a parapet eight feet high on the outside ; there is a beacon to mark the 
harbour. Close to the pier-head, there is twenty-four feet depth of water, at the lowest springs, 
which it is calculated will allow a frigate of thirty-six guns, or an Indiaman of eight hundred 
tons, to take refuge within its enclosure; and at two hours' flood there is water sufficient 
to float a seventy-four. Towards the shore, the depth gradually lessens to fifteen or sixteen 
feet." The area of water contained between the piers is 250 statute acres. 

* The Dublin and Kingstown Railway was opened to the public on the 17th December, 1834; 
but was not finished the entire distance until the year 1837. Trains run every half-hour during 
the summer ; and on Sundays every quarter of an hour : and the price charged for the whole 
distance of seven miles is extremely moderate — first class, Is.; and second class (in which most 
persons ride upon this railroad), 8d. ; third class, 6d. 

There is also an atmospheric Railway, of 2 miles, from Kingstown to Dalkey : it is in full work. 




OBELISK AT KINGSTOWN. 



10 



CARLISLE BRIDGE. 




TRANGERS cannot fail to receive most agreeable 
impressions of Dublin, no matter in what part of it, 
out of the mere suburbs, they chance to be set down ; 
for its principal streets and leading attractions lie within 
a comparatively narrow compass ; and attention is sure 
to be fixed upon some object worthy of observation — to 
be succeeded, almost immediately, by some other of 
equal note. If the Tourist arrive sea-ward he will have 
fully estimated the magnificence of the approach, which nature has formed, and 
which art has improved ; and there is scarcely one of the roads that conduct to 
it, on which he will not have journeyed through beautiful scenery, and obtained 
a fine view of the city as he nears it. But we must place him, at once, nearly 
in its centre — upon Carlisle Bridge ; perhaps from no single spot of the king- 
dom can the eye command so great a number of interesting points. He turns 
to the north, and looks along a noble street, Sackville Street ; midway is 
Nelson's Pillar, a fine Ionic column, surmounted by a statue of the hero; 
directly opposite to this is the Post-office, a modern structure built in pure 
taste; beyond is the Lying-in-Hospital and the Rotunda; and, ascending a 
steep hill, one of the many fine squares : to the south, he has within ken the 
far-famed Bank of Ireland, and the University ; to the west, are the Four 
Courts — the courts of law — and the several bridges ; to the east, is the Cus- 
tom-house, a superb, though a " lonesome " building. Towering above all, and 
within ken, wherever directed, are numerous steeples, of which no city, except 
the Metropolis of England, can boast so many. In fact, nearly all the great 
attractions of Dublin may be seen from this spot. 

All Tourists have indeed borne testimony to the beauty of Dublin city ; and 
especially to the grace and elegance of its public buildings. Unhappily, for 
upwards of half a century, so many of its aristocracy have been " absentees," 
that the deserted mansions of its nobility detract from, rather than add to, its 
dignity and grace ; even of the few nobles who remain in Ireland, there are not 
many who keep up " town houses." 

The principal public buildings we shall proceed to describe. And, first, the 
" College."— The Dublin 



THE DUBLIN UNIVERSITY. 11 




UNIVERSITY differs from the Universities of Oxford and 
Cambridge in being limited to a single college. There are 
some advantages in having a University and a College co- 
extensive : bnt they are overbalanced by the consequent 
absence of emulation — as necessary to communities as to 
individuals — and by an obvious tendency, in such a state of 
things, to render the national resources of the University 
subservient to the private interests of the College. It is highly to the 
credit of the rulers of Trinity College that they have strenuously exerted 
themselves to avert these evils; they have opened their educational 
course, their university degrees, and their university honours, to pupils 
of ail religious denominations ; Roman Catholics and Dissenters are only 
excluded from offices belonging to the Collegiate corporation. Thus while, on 
the one hand, the circumstances of the Institution have tended to restrict the 
University, its rulers, on the other, have done everything which their charters 
would allow to render the College national. 

The distinction between the University and the College is very rarely noticed ; 
in common parlance they are confounded together, and hence many circum- 
stances in the Institution appear anomalous which might easily be explained if 
reference were made to its two-fold character. One of these, and the first that 
will strike an English visitor, is, that residence is not enforced on the students. 
The collegiate establishment is not adequate to meet the wants of the Univer- 
sity, and hence attendance on examinations is substituted for the keeping of 
terms. In this instance the University absorbs the College, and renders it 
impossible to apply the rules of educational discipline which are strictly enforced 
in England. Residents are obliged to attend lectures, chapels, and commons ; 
but the fines for non-attendance at chapel are remitted to Dissenters and Roman 
Catholics ; and the latter are excused from commons during Lent. Non- 
residents are only required to appear at the term examinations, of which there 
are three in the year. It may be taken as an average that two-thirds of the 
students are non-resident; therefore, the amount of accommodation provided 
for students, appears singularly scanty to those accustomed to the Colleges and 
Halls of Cambridge and Oxford. 

It will be interesting to trace the origin of this most important institution ; 



12 TRINITY COLLEGE. 



and indeed it is difficult to overrate the value of any educational establishment 
in a country like Ireland, the progress — we might almost say, the salvation — 
of which depends upon the spread of education. 

In the year 1568 an Irish Parliament had projected a College, to be supported 
altogether by the voluntary contributions of the people of Ireland. The consent 
of the Government in London was of course necessary ; and many apparently 
unnecessary delays took place to prevent this liberal design being carried into 
execution. At last, in 1590, the people of Ireland renewed their exertions with 
great vigour, and brought the project nearly to completion. But St. Patrick's 
Cathedral, which had formerly been devoted to educational purposes, having 
been fixed upon for the new College, the Archbishop, Loftus, did not feel 
justified in giving it up. At last the Archbishop met the Mayor and 
Corporation solemnly at the Tholsel, and intimated that her Majesty Queen 
Elizabeth would incorporate the proposed College by charter, and assist in 
Its erection, if the Mayor and Corporation would give for that purpose the 
decayed monastery of All Hallows which Henry VIII. had made over to 
the city. This was done ; the provinces were appealed to for assistance ; and 
a sum equal to 14,000/. of our money was subscribed. The College was 
founded by Elizabeth, a.d. 1591;* its charter was confirmed and extended by 
James I., who conferred upon it the privilege of returning two members to the 
Irish Parliament. Additional privileges were granted by Charles L, George IV., 
aud Queen Victoria. To the present Queen the Eellows are indebted for liberty 
to marry without being deprived of their fellowships, and the advantage taken 
of the boon sufficiently proves how earnestly it was desired. At the time of 
the Union, the College was restricted to the return of one member. Among 
the changes made by the Reform Bill was the right of returning two members : 
but at the same time the elective franchise — previously limited to the corpora- 
tion of the College, the fellows and scholars — was extended to all the members 
of the University who had graduated as Masters of Arts. 

The front of the College faces Dame Street, and by its architectural beauty 
harmonizes with the magnificent structure formerly occupied by the Irish 
Parliament. On entering the collegiate quadrangle, which is one of the finest in 
any country, measuring 560 feet in length, and in breadth varying from 212 to 
270 feet, a visitor is struck by the happy effect of the Chapel and Examination- 

* The charter hears date 3d March, 1592. 



TRINITY COLLEGE. 



13 



hall, both of which were designed by SirW. Chambers. Each has in front 
a fine colonnade of. Corinthian pillars. The Chapel is not qnite adequate to 
the accommodation of the students, and the effect of the interior is greatly 
injured by side-galleries supported by cast-iron pillars. But the Examination- 
hall more than compensates for the defects of the Chapel. Its principal 
ornament is a marble monument erected to the memory of Provost Bald- 
win, who at his death, in 1758, bequeathed a legacy of 80,000/. to the Univer- 





TRINI1Y COLLICGE. 

sity. It is the work of an Irish artist, Hewetson, and was executed by 
him in Home. The exterior of the Refectory does not attract or deserve 
much notice, but the Library is a noble building, faced with granite and 
ornamented with a balustrade of singular beauty.* It is three stories high, 
supported upon massive pillars and arches, between which are flagged piazzas. 
A handsome circular oak staircase leads to the principal room, which is 210 
feet long, and 41 in breadth. In the centre of the room are a series of tables 
and reading-desks for the convenience of the readers. All graduates are en- 
titled to the free use of all the books, &c. At the end of the room is a 
stand, with glass cases along the sides, through which are seen some ancient 

* Large and important additions are about to be made to the College, consisting of Museums, 
Lecture Rooms, &c. The design for these additions is by Sir Thomas Deane, the architect, of 
Cork, who has been for many years at the head of his, profession in Ireland; who has erected 
nearly all the remarkable structures in the south of Ireland, and whose reputation has been of late 
upheld by his buildings — the Queen's College of Cork, and the Lunatic Asylum at Killarney. 



14 



TRINITY COLLEGE. 



MSS. ; some of papyrus, from the pyramids of Egypt, and some ancient Irish 
and other manuscripts, splendidly illuminated, and of great value. The library 
is peculiarly rich in Icelandic, Irish, and Persian MSS.* 

The Museum is open to all respectable persons, on presenting their cards, 
upon Wednesdays and Fridays, from ten to three o'clock. It is entered by 
a door under the vestibule of the principal collegiate entrance. The Museum 
contains a good collection of Irish antiquities, but not at 
all equal to that of the Royal Irish Academy. It also con- 
tains a harp — probably the most ancient in the world, and 
said to have belonged to Brian Boru ;f and several specimens 
of the Irish fossil elk. The Theatre and Refectory are also 
fine buildings, and contain many beautiful paintings, gene- 
rally full-lengths, of Irish worthies. Ai the entrance to 
Park Square, as the new square in the College has been 
named, is an elegant but not very extensive building occu- 
pied as a printing-office ; and in the park is the first mag- 
netic observatory ever erected in the world. The Provost's 
house is at a little distance from the College, with which, 
however, it communicates by a long passage under cover. 
His private gardens, which adjoin the College park, are 
tastefully laid out ; the house is modern-looking and extensive, and contains 
a fine collection of pictures by ancient masters — the property of the College. 
The number of students who entered Trinity College were, in the years 
ending July 8th :— 1848, 333; 1849, 327; 1850, 317; 1851, 334. And the 
number who obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts were, for the years ending 
as above:— 1848, 261; 1849, 254; 1850, 252; 1851, 262. 

The acquisition of modern languages has become very popular among the 

* In the course of the Queen and Prince Albert's visit to Ireland (in 1849), her Majesty inspected, 
■with much interest, the hooks in the College library : and upon being shown an ancient copy of 
Sallust, containing upon the title-page the autograph of Mary, Queen of Scots, she kindly 
favoured the University with another autograph: and entered her name upon the fly-leaf of 
the celebrated Book of Kells, after which Prince Albert wrote his name immediately under, and 
both parties attached the date. 

t It is thirty-two inches high, and of good workmanship ; the sounding-board is of oak, the 
arms of red " sally," the extremity of the uppermost arm in part is capped with silver, extremely 
well wrought and chiselled. It contains a large crystal set in silver, and under it was another stone 
now lost. The buttons or ornamented knobs, at the side of this arm, are of silver. On the front 
arm are the arms, chased in silver, of the O'Brien family, the bloody hands supported by lions. 




TUINITY COLLEGE. 15 



students, and is wisely encouraged by the heads of the University. This is an 
improvement of recent date, and we have ascertained that it has had the effect of 
trebling the sale of foreign books in Ireland. The study of the Irish language 
is also encouraged, particularly among Divinity students, and it is believed 
that the facility of addressing the poor in the mother tongue has given to the 
clergy much power to instruct the lower orders, and to ameliorate their con- 
dition, which, heretofore, they did not possess.* The classical researches of 
the Germans, and the mathematical analyses of the French, are familiar to all 
" the reading men " in the College ; and the classical examination papers are 
every term taking a wider and wider range in history, archseology, and criticism. 
The College school of civil engineers commenced its operations in the year 1842, 
with the view of combining, as far as possible, the theoretical as well as prac- 
tical knowledge necessary for the profession of a civil engineer, and at the same 
time to permit the student to obtain the full advantages of an academical 
education; and the course of education adopted, and the high character of 
the lecturers appointed, have already made the School an honour to the College, 
and a benefit to the community. 

There are now provincial Colleges in Belfast, Cork, and Galway ; and the 
presidents of the three Colleges, and other persons appointed by Royal Sign 
Manual, constitute " the Queen's University in Ireland," with power to confer 
degrees, &c. The Collegiate course at the provincial Colleges is quite inde- 
pendent of anything bordering upon sectarianism, but at the same time care 
is taken that members of each sect shall receive religious instruction from pro- 
fessors of their own creed. The provincial Colleges are singularly rich in 
professorships, scholarships, and endowments, and afford facilities for education 
perhaps unequalled in any other country for the same expense. The Queen's 

On the sides of the front arm, within two circles, are two Irish wolf-dogs, cut in the wood. The 
holes of the sounding board, where the strings entered, are neatly ornamented with an escutcheon 
of brass, carved and gilt ; the larger sounding holes have been ornamented, probably with silver. 
The harp has twenty-eight keys, and as many string-holes, consequently there were as many 
strings. The foot-piece or rest is broken off, and the parts round which it was joined are very 
rotten. The whole bears evidence of an expert artist. 

* Voluntary associations for mutual improvement have for more than a century been formed 
among the students, but the violence of party spirit has always compelled the governors of the 
College to watch them with a jealous eye, lest they should degenerate into mere debating societies 
or political clubs. The most celebrated of these was the old Historical Society, in which many 
of the Irish orators who obtained high rank in the senate, in the pulpit, or at the bar, were first 
disciplined in the art of speaking. 



THE BANK OF IRELAND. 



University confers the degree of LL.D. and inferior degrees in arts, medicine, 
law, engineering, and agriculture. 




NDOUBTEDLY, among the most perfect examples of 
British architecture is universally classed the Bank of 
Ireland, — the "Parliament House" before the Union. 
Yet, strange to say, little or nothing is known of the 
architect — the history of the graceful and beautiful 
structure being wrapt in obscurity almost approaching to 
mystery* It is built entirely of Portland stone, and 
is, remarkable for an absence of all meretricious orna- 
ment, attracting entirely by its pure and classic, and 
rigidly simple, architecture. In 1802 it was purchased from government by the 
Governors of the Bank of Ireland,f who have since subjected it to some altera- 
tions with a view to its better application to its present purpose: these 
changes, however, have been effected without imparing its beauty either externally 
or internally; and it unquestionably merits its reputation as "the grandest, 
most convenient, and most extensive edifice of the kind in Europe." 

* The historians of Dublin are singularly unsatisfactory upon this head. We learn from them 
only that " the Parliament House was begun to be built, during the 'administration of John Lord 
Carteret, in the year 1729; and was executed under the inspection of Sir Edward Lovel Pearce, 
engineer and surveyor general; but completed by Arthur Dobbs, Esq., his successor, about the 
year 1729 ." Dr. Walsh — usually so searching in his inquiries, and so minute as to facts — telis 
us no more than Harris the historian who preceded him, and who makes no mention cf " Mr. 
Cassell or Castell," the architect to whom the building is usually attributed, but of whom " very 
little is known." Mr. Brewer states, but does not give his authority, that Mr. Cassell did not 
visit Ireland until the year 1773, nearly fifty years after the structure was commenced. It is a 
grievous evil that so much apathy should have existed upon such a subject — that the name of 
the architect should have been lost within little more than a century, and that posthumous fame 
should be denied to one who had nobly earned it. Whoever he was, it is clear that he was con- 
tent with supplying the designs and instructions without superintending the work in its progress ; 
some needy man, perhaps, who, oppressed with poverty, was tempted to remain in the background, 
and sell both his genius and his glory to " the Engineer and Surveyor General." In 1785, Mr. 
James Gandon, architect, was employed, in order tc effect a more convenient entrance for the 
Peers, to add to the building an " East Front ; " and a noble portico of six Corinthian columns 
was erected. The old portico, however, was of Ionic columns : a very indefensible incongruity; 
for which the architect is said to have thus accounted : — " A gentleman passing when the work- 
men were placing the Corinthian capitals on the columns, struck by the injudicious mixture of 
orders, inquired ' What order was that?' upon which Mr. Gandon, who was by, replied, — ' A 
very substantial order, for it was the order of the House of Lords.'" 

t The Bank cost altogether £95,000, and was sold for £40,000 to the Bank of Ireland, being 
considerably less than half its cost of building, and subject to a rent of £210 a year. 



THE BANK OE IRELAND. 



17 



The grand portico in College Green (which our print represents) extends 147 
feet, is of the Ionic order, and, though destitute of the usual architectural 
decorations, " derives all its beauty from a simple impulse of fine art, and is 
one of the few instances of form only, expressing true symmetry." A great 




LHE BANK OF IRELAND. 



deal of the impressive effect produced by this building has been attributed to the 
skilful use the architect lias made of the shadows cast by the various pillars, &c. 
The lights and shadows of the different parts of the building all harmonize with 
the graceful proportions of the whole ; and what in other architectural structures 
often proves a defect, in this, constitutes almost its perfection. To obtain a 
just estimate of the magnificence of this splendid architectural pile it is indis- 
pensably necessary to visit it on a moonlight night. It is difficult to imagine 
anything grander than the coup d'ceil presented from the corner of Grafton 
Street, on a clear moonlight night, when the Bank, and the College, and a 

c 



18 THE EXCHANGE. 



glimpse of Westmorland Street, aud Carlisle Bridge in the distance, suddenly 
burst upon the sight. The tympanum of the pediment in front has in the 
centre the royal arms, and on its apex a figure of Hibernia, with Commerce on 
her left hand, and Fidelity on her right. The pediment over the east front is 
also ornamented with statues of Fortitude, Justice, and Liberty. The interior 
of this superb edifice fully corresponds with the majesty of its external 
appearance. While used as a senate-house, the middle door under the portico 
led directly to the House of Commons, passing through a great hall called the 
Court of Requests. The Commons'-room formed a circle, 55 feet in diameter, 
inscribed in a square. The seats were disposed around the room in concentric 
circles, rising above each other. A rich hemispherical dome, supported by 
sixteen Corinthian columns, crowned the whole. Between the pillars a narrow 
gallery was handsomely fitted up for the convenience of the public. A beau- 
tiful corridor communicated by three doors with the committee-rooms, coffee- 
rooms, &c. The House of Lords, to the right of the Commons', is also a noble 
apartment, ornamented at each end with Corinthian columns. An entablature 
goes round the room, covered with a rich trunk ceiling, and in a circular recess 
at the upper end was placed the throne of the Viceroy, under a rich canopy of 
crimson velvet. This room remains unaltered ; it is now designated the Court 
of Proprietors. It is 73 feet long by 30 broad, and the walls are ornamented 
with two large pieces of tapestry, representing the Castle of the Boyne, and the 
siege of Londonderry, in a state of excellent preservation. At the end of the 
room is a statue of George the Fourth, of white marble. 

It is impossible for even a stranger to stand beside, or walk through this 
noble building without calling to mind the eloquence that contributed to render 
it part of Irish history ; and although " the Temple " may now be more advan- 
tageously occupied by the "money-changers," a sigh is natural over the 
memory of the many great men associated with it. 

The Exchange may, perhaps, rank next in importance to the Bank. It is 
situate near the entrance to " the Castle," and upon the summit of Cork Hill. 
It was commenced in 1769, and finished in 1779, under the immediate direc- 
tion of Mr. Thomas Cooley, an artist to whom Dublin is indebted for other fine 
structures. Its form is nearly a square of one hundred feet, having three 
fronts of Portland stone, of the Corinthian order, crowned by a dome in the 
centre of the building. Twelve fluted columns, of the Composite order, thirty- 



THE CUSTOM-HOUSE. 19 



two feet high, form a rotunda in the centre of the building. Above their 
entablature, which is highly enriched, is an attic ten feet high, with as many 
circular windows, answering to the inter-columns below, and connected with 
pendant festoons of laurel in rich stucco-work, and from this rises an elegantly 
proportioned dome, ornamented with hexagonal caissons. The inter-columns 
are open below to the ambulatory encompassing the circular area in the centre 
of the building. Ionic impost pilasters, about half the height of the columns 
to which they are attached, support a fluted frieze and enriched cornice, above 
which, in the upper spaces of the inter-columns, are panel and other ornaments. 
The ambulatory is much lower than the rotunda, being covered with a flat 
ceiling, the height of the impost pilasters, with enriched soffits, extending from 
these pilasters to others opposite to them against the wall. Between the 
pilasters are blank arcades with seats. It contains several fine statues, the 
principal being one of George the Third, by Van Nost, in bronze ; a finely 
executed statue, by Hogan, of Mr. Drummond, erected in 1845 by subscription ; 
a statue of Henry Grattan, by Chantrey ; one of Dr. Lucas ; and one of Daniel 
O'Connell, by Hogan. 

The Custom-house was designed and erected by Mr. James Gandon, the 
foundation-stone having been laid in 1781. Its cost was enormous — exceeding 
546,000/. It is three hundred and seventy-five feet in length, and two 
hundred and five in depth, and exhibits four decorated fronts, answering 
almost directly to the four cardinal points of the compass — the south being 
the principal front. In the interior are two courts, divided from each other 
by the corridor, which is one hundred feet broad, and runs from north to south 
the whole depth of the building. The south, or sea front, is composed of 
pavilions at each end, joined by arcades, and united to the centre. It is 
finished in the Doric order, with entablature and bold projecting cornice. 
A superb dome, one hundred and twenty feet in height, surmounts the whole, 
on the top of which is a statue of Hope resting on her anchor, sixteen feet 
high. The north front has a portico of four pillars in the centre, but no 
pediment. The south front is entirely of Portland stone : the other three are 
of mountain granite. The effect of this spacious and superb structure is now 
inexpressibly lonely. Time has produced changes that have rendered it almost 
useless ; the necessity of watching contrabandists no longer exists ; the assi- 
milation of "duties" has removed clerks and "waiters;" and "bills of 



20 THE FOUR COURTS. 



lading" would now startle almost as much as the drapery of a banshee. The 
interior is divided into several public offices, including the Excise, Customs, 
Stamps, Poor-Law, Board of Works, Quit-rents, Commissariat, Records, and 
District Army Pay Offices. 

The principal courts of law, commonly called the " Pour Courts," present 
the same deserted appearance, and show how much the love for litigation or 
the means to carry it on have died away, and how heavily " law reform " has 
fallen upon the Irish Bar. The practising barristers do not amount to more 
than a third of their former number, and the silence of the "Hall" is now 
scarcely broken by the thin assemblage of lawyers and clients where not long 
ago there was a perpetual buzz, like the growling of an incipient volcano. The 
building which contains the several Irish courts of law, was commenced by 
the architect, Mr. Thomas Cooley, in 1786 ; and, in consequence of his death, 
continued by Mr. James Gandon, by whom it was completed in the year 1800, at 
a total cost of 200,000/., since which period extensive and expensive alterations 
have been made. It is situated on the north side of the Liffey ; and is an 
exceedingly beautiful and attractive object, seen either from an adjacent 
point, or from a distance. The whole edifices of the law courts and the 
law offices together form an oblong rectangle of four hundred and forty 
feet in front to the river, and one hundred and seventy feet deep to the rear. 
The centre pile, one hundred and forty feet square, divides off the law offices, 
and forms two court-yards, one to the east, the other to the west, which courts 
are shut out from the street by handsome screen walls, perforated by arches 
(defaced, by the way, by lines of old-book stalls). The middle structure con- 
tains the " Pour Courts " of judicature — Chancery, King's Bench, Exchequer, 
and Common Pleas. On the pediment over the portico stands the statue of 
Moses, with figures representing Justice on the one hand, and Mercy on the 
other. On the corners of the building, over the coupled pilasters, are sitting 
statues of Wisdom and Authority. "To have a clear conception of the dispo- 
sition of the various apartments of the inside," writes Mr. James Malton, " as 
they are arranged around the circular hall, it is necessary first to conceive the 
plan well, which may be distinctly delineated in the imagination, by figuring a 
circle of sixty-four feet diameter, in the centre of a square of one hundred and 
forty feet, with the four courts radiating from the circle to the angles of the 
square." The various offices occupy the spaces between the courts. The Hall 



THE POST-OFFICE, ETC. 21 



is surrounded by Corinthian columns. Prom the attic springs the dome — 
forming a conspicuous object from all parts of the city. In this dome are the 
eight windows by which the hall is lighted ; and between these windows are 
eight colossal statues in alto rilievo — emblematic of Liberty, Justice, Wisdom, 
Law, Prudence, Mercy, Eloquence, and Punishment. There are also basso 
rilievo medallions of the principal lawgivers of the world, and tablets repre- 
senting the most interesting events in legal history, as the granting of Magna- 
Charta, &c. Magnificent and spacious additions have been lately made. The 
principal of these are the Rolls Court, the Nisi Prius Court, and the court of 
the Commissioners of Bankrupts — a library for the use of the bar, and two 
large rooms for the convenience of barristers and attorneys for a coffee-room. 
The hall contains a fine statue, life size, in white marble, of a late master 
of the Rolls, Sir Michael O'Loghlen, the first Roman Catholic who obtained 
that high position on the Irish Bench, after the passing of the Roman Catholic 
Emancipation Act. 

Of the other buildings the most important is " the Post-office," the first 
stone of which was laid in 1815. It was built after a design by Mr. Prancis 
Johnson, and is one of the best and most convenient public structures in the 
kingdom. It is two hundred and twenty-three feet in front, one hundred and 
fifty feet in depth, and fifty feet (three stories) in height, to the top of the 
cornice. In front is a grand portico, eighty feet in length, consisting of a 
pediment, supported by six massive pillars, of the Ionic order. This pediment 
is surmounted by three finely executed statues, representing Hibernia resting 
on her spear and harped shield ; Mercury, with his caduceus and purse ; and 
Eidelity, with her finger on her lips, and a key in the other hand. The tym- 
panum of the pediment is decorated with the royal arms, and a fine balustrade 
surmounts the cornice all round the top, giving an elegant finish to the whole. 
This edifice is built of mountain granite, except the portico, which is of 
Portland stone. Immediately opposite the Post Office is a statue of Nelson. 

As public buildings, the College of Surgeons, in Stephen's Green, may 
perhaps be ranked next ; and after it, the Lying-in-Hospital, at the top of 
Sackville-street. 

There are many public buildings of great architectural beauty besides those 
we have mentioned; but we must be content with reference — and that a 
slight one — to the more remarkable. The Session House is an edifice of cut 



22 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 



stone, -with a portico supported by columns. It is in Green Street ; and here 
the Commission of Oyer and Terminer for the county and city of Dublin, and 
Quarter Sessions, are held. Adjoining it is Newgate, the principal gaol of the 
city : a massive stone building flanked with round towers. Not far from Green 
Street is the Queen's Inn, where candidates for the bar " eat their dinners." 
It is at the head of Henrietta Street, and is in far too confined a position. 
Passing under an archway, the visitor finds himself in the garden, from which 
the view of the building is really very fine. The Law Library is at a little distance 
in the same street. It is a neat and convenient building, but nothing more. 
At the same side of the street, and close to it, is the Encumbered Estates Court, 
where estates of enormous value are knocked down by Irish judges, who act as 
auctioneers, with less ceremony than a foundered hack is disposed of at Tatter- 
sail's. The practice of this court is almost altogether monopolized by two or 
three barristers. The Mansion House, in Dawson Street, has few claims to archi- 
tectural beauty. The lawn attached to it extends to the house lately purchased 
by the Royal Irish Academy. In the lawn is an equestrian statue in bronze of 
George III., removed from old Essex Bridge, where it formerly stood ; and 
indeed it could scarcely have been carried to a worse situation. An iron railing 
in front of it gives a view of it from the street. In the grounds behind the 
Mansion House are colossal statues of Charles II. and William III. The Linen 
Hall was once a building of much commercial importance ; but latterly almost 
all the business connected with the linen trade has been transferred to Belfast. 
It contains a statue of George IV. by Kirk, a native artist, erected to comme- 
morate that monarch's visit to Ireland in 1821. The principal hospitals and 
charitable institutions are the Royal Military Infirmary, Royal H6spital, where 
the commander of the forces in Ireland resides, the Bluecoat Hospital, Hibernian 
Soldier's School, the Richmond Lunatic Asylum, Swift's Hospital, Sir Patrick 
Dun's Hospital, Lying-in Hospital, Hepburn's Hospital, the Meath Hospital, 
the City of Dublin Hospital, the Pever Hospital, St. Mark's Ophthalmic 
Hospital and Dispensary, Mercer's Hospital, and the National Deaf and Dumb 
Institute, besides a whole host of others of less importance. Most of these 
charitable institutions are supported, in part if not wholly, by private contri- 
butions ; and were we to add to this a list of the number of less extensive 
societies established for religious purposes, or in connexion with particular 
denominations, such as schools, &c, England would be astonished at the 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 23 



enormous sums of money subscribed for these objects by the Irish public. In 
addition to the monuments already mentioned, a statue of George II. stands in 
the centre of Stephen's Green. The principal barracks are handsome and con- 
venient, including the Royal Barracks, Richmond Barracks at a short distance 
from the town, Portobello, generally occupied by artillery; and outside the town, 
Island Bridge, Beggar's Bush ; also at a little distance on the South Circular 
Road, the Pigeon House Port, which is approached by a long and narrow cause- 
way ; it is generally occupied by artillery, and commands the harbour of Dublin. 

Some of the reminiscences of the old town are particularly interesting. 
Pishamble Street is now abandoned to slopmen and trunkmakers. The Deanery 
House, now a Ragged-school, still stands inside a small court-yard ; and a mean- 
looking building, now crumbling to ruin, was once the Music Hall, which was 
opened in 1741, and afterwards became the famous theatre. Handel was invited 
by the Duke of Devonshire, then Lord Lieutenant, to visit Dublin, and it was 
upon the occasion of this visit that he composed his Messiah. It was in Pish- 
amble Street on the 13th of April, 1742, that a great portion of this splendid 
composition was first performed, including the "Hallelujah Chorus," and 
" Worthy is the Lamb." 

There is scarcely a street in the old part of the city that is not rich in historic 
lore. In Upper Merrion Street stands the house in which the Duke of Wel- 
lington first saw the light ; and in a narrow lane off Grafton Street (Johnson's 
Court) is the school in which that illustrious man received the early rudiments 
of education. The old desks and benches still exist. In Rutland Square is 
Charlemont House, the scene of many an important event in Irish politics: this 
is one of the few houses of the ancient Irish nobility still occupied by the noble 
owner. The ancient palace of the Archbishop of Dublin is now a police bar- 
rack. Moira House, on the Quay, where once the brilliancy and talent of 
Ireland were wont to congregate under the leadership of the noble owner, who 
might well be called the Mecsenas of his native land, is a Mendicity Institution. 
It was also in Johnson's Court that Moore's father resided; and many 
neglected and now decayed lanes and courts, as well as more fashionable streets, 
are rich in traditions of Wellington and Lord Mornington, Moore, Swift, 
Sheridan, Temple, Wolfe Tone, Grattan, Curran, Ussher, Plunkett, &c. 

It will be observed that of all these edifices there are none, except the 
College, much above a century old. 



2i 



THE CASTLE. 




F great antiquity, however, is " the Castle." Its history- 
is, in fact, the history of Dublin. To trace the progress 
of the city from the period when a band of invaders de- 
stroyed it by fastening matches to the tails of swallows, 
and so communicating fire to the thatched roofs of the 
houses, to its present size and fine architectural character, 
would be a task — however interesting — that would far exceed our 
But some notices of it are absolutely necessary; and for 
these we shall be indebted to Dr. Walsh— drawing, indeed, largely 
upon him, and availing ourselves of his kind assistance in cases where 
changes have occurred since the publication of his work.* 
The period of the foundation of the city, and the etymology of its name, 
are both involved in obscurity.f The geographer Ptolemy, who flourished 
a.d. 140, places a town (in his description of Hibernia, with which he commences 
his history of the world, in all probability because Ireland was the most 
western country) under nearly the same parallel, and calls it " Civitas Eblana;" 
and towards the close of the second century there are records of contests 

* "The History of the City of Dublin, from the Earliest Accounts to Ihe Present Time," 
2 vols. 4to. pp. 1348 : published in 1818, with numerous illustrations. The work was commenced 
by Mr. Warburton, keeper of the records of Birmingham Tower; and the Rev. James Whitelaw, 
vicar of St. Catherine's. The deaths of both these gentlemen while the work was in progress, 
but in a very unfinished state, consigned the duty of continuing and completing it to the Rev. 
Dr. Walsh. Dr. Walsh died, Rector of Finglas, in 1852 : the authors of this volume enjoyed the 
happiness of his friendship for more than a quarter of a century. His other works are well 
known and have been highly popular: they consist principally of "A Residence at Constan- 
tinople," and "An Account of Brazil," in both of which places he resided some time as chaplain 
to the Embassies. He was a learned man and most estimable gentleman. 

+ The city is known in history by various names. The Irish called it Drom-coll-coil — i. e. the 
brow of a hazel wood; another ancient name by which, according to Dr. Walsh, it is "known by 
the Irish to this day," is Bally-ath-cleath— i. e. the town of the ford of hurdles, from a common 
practice of the Irish, who used to make muddy rivers, such as the Liffey was, near its junction 
with the sea, and near bogs and marshes, fordable by means of hurdles laid down where they 
desired to pass. It was a rude substitute for a bridge ; or more probably the ford as well as the 
channels was marked by hurdles stuck in the mud, a practice still common wherever " slob " 
exists, such as on the banks of the Shannon, Fergus, Blackwater, &c. The name Eblana, or 
what Ptolemy more probably wrote Deblana (the d having been lost from the original) is composed 
of two Irish words Dubh, black, and Linn, water, from the colour it took from the bogs it flowed 
through. There are still more than a dozen rivers of various size-, with names similarly 
derived, in Ireland. Such, for instance, as the Blackwater, which falls into the sea in Youghal 
Bay, and on the banks of which stand the towns of Youghal, Lismore, Fermoy, &c. 



THE CASTLE. 25 



between certain Irish kings for its possession, as a place " commodious for 
traffic and fishing." It is more than probable, however, that its commerce 
and fortifications were both derived from the Danish sea-kings, by whom it 
was settled and strengthened prior to the Anglo-Norman invasion ; but that in 
the year 964 it had assumed some importance, is evidenced by the preface 
to King Edward's Charter dated in that year, where it is styled " the most 
noble city of Dublin." In the year 1014, the Danish power in Ireland was 
for a time effectually destroyed by a league of the native Irish princes, 
headed by the famous king Brien Boro, Borome, or Boroimhe * ; during whose 
reign, it is said, so strictly were the laws administered, that a fair lady might 
travel from one end of the kingdom, with a gold ring on the top of a wand, 
in perfect security. The reader will call to mind one of Moore's poems : — 

" Rich and rare were the gems she wore, 
And a bright gold ring on her wand she bore ; 
But oh ! her beauty was far beyond 
Her sparkling gems and snow-white wand." 

"The strangers," however, continued for above a century afterwards to 
keep possession of Dublin, of which they were sovereigns. Dr. "Walsh gives 
a list of twenty-five of these Oastman kings,f embracing a period from a.d. 
853 to 1170, when the city was conquered by the English, who forced the 
Danish monarch and his followers to abandon the kingdom, 1: 

* The decisive contest with the Danes was fought at Clontarf, a village near Dublin, which 
skirts the harbour. The " strangers " were assisted by several of the native chieftains, at the 
head of whom was the king of Leinster. The battle was fought on Good Friday; and 
although it was for a long time doubtful, the Irish were at length conquerors ; but the victory 
was saddened by the loss of the good and brave monarch and nearly all their leaders. 

t The Danes were usually termed " Oastmen " or men from the east ; in Ireland, as in England 
and France they were called Northmen or Normans, according to their relative position. The 
portion of Dublin in which they settled was styled Oastmantown, now Oxmantown — nearly in 
the locality where the Royal Barracks are now situated. 

J The Anglo-Normans having established themselves in Wexford, their ally Dermod McMorogh 
persuaded them to attack Dublin, of which they possessed themselves on the twenty-first of 
September, 1170. The Irish king was stimulated upon this occasion more by a craving for 
vengeance than a desire to add to his possessions, for the citizens of Dublin had murdered his 
father ; and, as a further insult, had buried the body in a dunghill with a dog. The Danish king 
escaped for the time ; but returning soon afterwards, he was taken and slain by the Irish deputy 
(appointed by Strongbow) Miles de Cogan. It is related, that when the vanquished chieftain was 
brought before the fierce Norman and his officers, "he looked round him with ferocious pride, 
and bade his conquerors reserve their exultation for a day of final triumph that might never 
come." The threat cost him his life ; he was immediately beheaded. His army were intercepted 
before they could reach their ships, and nearly the whole of them were slain. Mac Torcall was 



With this event terminated the dominion of the sea-kings in Ireland — the 
Oastmen were never afterwards enabled to regain their Irish possessions ; and 
those who continued in the country "became quiet subjects to the English, 
and one people with them." In 1173, Henry II. having received the sub- 
missions of the Irish chieftains and their kins; — the last king of Ireland, 




THE BIRMINGHAM TOWER. 



Roderick O'Conor — granted by charter the city of Dublin to his subjects ot 
Bristol, to hold it " of him and his heirs, well and in peace, freely and quietly, 

attended by a Scandinavian giant, named John le Dane. Maurice Regan reports, that this 
northern Hector was of such enormous prowess, that with one blow of his battle-axe he could 
cut the thighbones of the horsemen like cheese, and their legs would fall off like so many cabbage 
•stalks to the ground. He fell, however, by the stronger arm of Miles de Cogan. A petty king 
of the name of Gille Mo Holmock, of Oastman descent, but who had adopted the manners, dress, 
and habits of the Irish, and who governed a district not far from Dublin, came and offered the 
English his assistance. " No," says Miles de Cogan, in the pride of his knighthood, " we won't 
have your help ! all we want you to do is this — if we beat the Danes, cut off their retreat to their 
ships, and help us to kill them ; and if we be defeated and are forced to fly, why, fall on us and 
cut our throats, sooner than let us be taken prisoners by these pirates ! " 



THE CASTLE. 27 



fully and amply and honourably, with all the liberties and free customs which 
the men of Bristol have at Bristol." 

The building of Dublin "Castle" — for the residence of the Viceroys retains 
the term — was commenced by Meiler Fitzhenry, Lord Justice of Ireland, in 
1205 ; and finished, fifteen years afterwards, by Henry de Loundres, archbishop 
of Dublin. The purpose of the structure is declared by the patent by which 
King John commanded its erection : " You have given us to understand that 
you have not a convenient place wherein our treasure may be safely deposited; 
and forasmuch as (as well for that use as for many others) a fortress would be 
necessary for us at Dublin, we command you to erect a castle there, in such 
competent place as you shall judge most expedient, as well to curb the city as 
to defend it if occasion shall so require, and that you make it as strong as you 
can with good and durable walls." Accordingly it was occupied as a strong 
fortress only, until the reign of Elizabeth, when it became the seat of the Irish 
government. — the court being held, previously, at various palaces in the city or 
its suburbs ; and in the seventeenth century Terms and Parliaments were both 
held within its walls. The Castle, however, has undergone so many and such 
various changes from time to time, as circumstances justified the withdrawal 
of its defences, that the only portion of it which now bears a character of anti- 
quity is the Birmingham Tower;* and even that has been almost entirely 
rebuilt, although it retains its ancient form. 

* The records of this tower— in modern times the State Paper Office— would afford materials 
for one of the most singular and romantic histories ever published. It received its name, 
according to Dr. Walsh, not from the De Birminghams, who were lords justices in 1321 and 
1348; but from Sir William Birmingham, who was imprisoned there in 1331, with his son 
Walter: " the former was taken out from thence and executed, the latter was pardoned as to life 
because he was in holy orders." . It was the ancient keep, or ballium, of the fortress ; and was 
for a very long period the great state prison, in which were confined the resolute or obstinate 
Milesian chiefs, and the rebellious Anglo-Norman lords. Strong and well guarded as it was, 
however, its inmates contrived occasionally to escape from its durance. Some of the escapes 
which, the historians have recorded are remarkable and interesting ; and none more so than that 
of Hugh O'Donnel, in 1591. From his fastnesses in Donegal, he had intimated designs of 
maintaining his independence; in consequence of which the lord-justice, Sir John Perrot, laid 
a plot to obtain possession of his person. Accordingly, in the year 1587, a ship was fitted out, 
and stowed with Spanish wine, and directed to sail to one of the harbours of Donegal* The 
vessel put into Lough Swilly, and cast anchor off the castle of Dundonald, near Rathmillan.' 
The captain, disguised as a Spaniard, proposed to traffic with the people of the fortress, who 
bought and drank until they became intoxicated. The people of the adjoining district did the 
same, and all the surrounding septs of O'Donnel, Mc Swiney, and O'Dogherty, entered into 
dealings with the crafty wine-merchant. O'Donnel, among the rest, sent for some of the wine, 
and was informed that there was no more to sell, but if the young prince would come on board 



28 



THE CASTLE. 



The entrance to the portion of the castle occupied by the Viceroy, lies under 
a handsome colonnade, supported by six Doric columns. Passing through the 
entrance, the visitor finds himself in the Yeoman's Hall. Facing him is a hand- 
some staircase which leads to the principal apartments. The Presence Chamber 
contains a throne of crimson velvet and gold, and the Council Room is hung 
round with portraits of all the viceroys since the Union. St. Patrick's Hall is 
the finest room in the castle. It is eighty-two feet long, forty-one feet wide, 
and thirty-eight feet high. The ceiling is painted in three compartments. 
The central, which is circular, represents George III. supported by Liberty and 
Justice ; the others, the conversion of the Irish, by St. Patrick, and the 
submission of the Irish chieftains to Henry II. This ball-room is thrown open 
upon all important occasions, and when state balls are given, particularly on 
the anniversary of the Patron Saint, the lord-lieutenant and his lady sit upon 
a throne placed on a raised dais, upon which the nobility and household are 
alone permitted to stand. 

The castle is situated on very high ground, nearly in the centre of the city ; 
the principal entrance is by a handsome gateway. The several buildings, 
surrounding two squares, consist of the lord-lieutenant's state apartments, 
guard-rooms, the offices of the chief secretary, the apartments of aides-du-camp 
and officers of the household, the offices of the treasury, hanaper, register, 
auditor-general, constabulary, &c. &c. The buildings have a dull and heavy 
character — no effort has been made at elegance or display — and however well 
calculated they may seem for business, they have more the aspect of a 
prison than a court. There is, indeed, one structure that contributes 
somewhat to redeem the sombre appearance of "the Castle " — the chapel is 
a fine gothic edifice, richly decorated both within and without. The walls by 
which it was formerly surrounded, and the fortifications for its defence, have 
nearly all vanished. 

The Castle of Dublin, although it has long since lost all claims to the title 
of castle, is still, as we have said, the residence of the Viceroy, who continues 
to hold a court and to enjoy the title, though long since shorn of almost all its 

the vessel, he should taste some of the choicest. The bait took; the prince, " overtaken " by 
drink, was easily secured and conveyed a prisoner to Dublin. Here he remained in custody for 
above three years. In the year 1591. he and some of his followers descended by means of a rope 
on the drawbridge, and getting safe off from the fortress, they escaped towards the Wicklow 
mountains, and reached O'Toole's country. 



THE CASTLE. 29 



power and splendour. In the stormy scenes that agitated Ireland half a 
century ago, his station was as important as that of many a petty sovereign of 
the present day. Although the government of Ireland is in reality carried on 
at the other side of the Channel, the same form remains.* The Executive of 
Ireland is vested in the Lord-Lieutenant, assisted by a privy council, whose 
number is indefinite, but of which the Bishop of Meath is an ex officio member ; 
and by a Chief Secretary, who must be a member of the House of Commons ; 
and an Under Secretary, and several minor officers. In the absence of the 
Lord-Lieutenant, his duties are performed by "the Lords Justices," who 
consist generally of the Primate or Archbishop of Dublin, the Lord Chancellor, 
or on a change of government, when his office is vacant, the Chief Justice, and 
of the Commander-in-chief of the Forces in Ireland. Each county is under a 
Lieutenant, who is also Custos Rotulorum, and who is generally one of the 
most influential men in the county ; a fixed number of Deputy Lieutenants 
(filled up by the Lieutenant as vacancies occur) ; and an indefinite number 
of magistrates, who act gratuitously, and who are under the immediate control 
of the Chancellor, by whom they are appointed; but never without the recom- 
mendation of the Lieutenant of the County. The details of the laws are 
carried into execution by a Lord Chancellor, Master of the Rolls, twelve 
judges, including three chiefs, five Masters in Chancery, and judges of the 
Prerogative, Consistorial, Admiralty, and Insolvent courts, &c. The more 
minute details are committed to the Stipendiary magistrates and the Consta- 
bulary, who are changed to different localities, according to the pleasure of the 
Lord-Lieutenant. Dublin Castle is now the head-quarters of the Executive 
Government, and it will be convenient, before dismissing it from our minds, to 
take the opportunity of reviewing at a length not unwarranted by its importance, 
an institution to which Ireland is in no small measure indebted for the peace 
and prosperity that are at last beginning to dispel the gloomy cloud that has 
so long hung over it — paralysing its energies, and withering its strength. 

* The policy of altogether " doing away" with the office of Lord Lieutenant has heen much 
canvassed of* late years, hoth in Ireland and England, and opinions very strongly vary on the 
subject ; the advocates for continuing the office are principally found in the metropolis, whilst 
those who either take the opposite view, or are indifferent on the matter, are the residents in the 
provinces, who consider that the attractions to Dublin from the " country parts " are sufficient 
without this especial one. It is probable, however, .that when Ireland has become more 
thoroughly a part of England this office will no longer exist. 



30 THE HUSH CONSTABULARY. 




E allude to the Irish Constabulary. During our 
several visits to Ireland we had frequent opportunities 
of testing the advantages that had accrued to the com- 
munity at large, from the admirable mode in which this 
Force is conducted. Our attention was first attracted 
by the exceedingly neat and clean-looking houses, fitted 
up as their barracks, in many instances built expressly for them, 
and the remarkably soldier-like air and manner of the fine-looking 
young men who compose the corps* The closer our inquiries, the more 
we became convinced that a more shrewd, active and intelligent body 
of men, or one more effective for the purpose it is intended to answer, 
never existed in any country .f Soldiers were at all times available for quelling 
disturbances ; but the constabulary have acted upon the principle of the adage, 
" Prevention is better than cure ; " — as one of its officers very forcibly ex- 
pressed it to us, they " take off the match before the shell explodes." This is, 
indeed, thus distinctly laid down in one of the earliest of the printed " Regula- 
tions :" — " In the performance of their duty as peace officers, they are dis- 
tinctly to understand that their efforts should be principally directed to the 
prevention of crime, which tends far more effectually towards the security of 
person and property than the punishment of those who have violated the 
laws ; the best evidence that can be given of the efficiency of the police is 
the absence of crime." 

The first introduction of an armed police force into Ireland was in 1787 : 

* The rooms were all whitewashed ; the little garden was well cultivated and free from weeds ; 
they slept on iron hedsteads; and the paillasses, blankets, pillows, &c, were neatly rolled up 
and placed at the head of each. The fire-arms and bayonets, polished as a mirror, were hung 
up over each bed; and the floors were as clean — to adopt a familiar simile — " as anew pin." 
Each man had his small box at his bed-foot. All was in perfect order. The sub-inspector 
visited the station once a month — the inspector once a quarter. It is usual to assign one married 
man with his wife to each barrack — the wife, of course, arranging the rooms, and providing the 
meals of the men, who always mess together. 

t The dress of both the cavalry and infantry is, the coat of rifle green,' with black facings, and 
the trowsers Oxford grey ; black belts ; caps with leather tops ; the arms, carbines and bayonets ; 
and each man wears at his belt a handcuff - case, in which handcuff's are always carried. When 
on duty in courts, the men carry batoons, and deposit their arms in the police-barracks. When 
their duty is discharged, ' they are to return the batoons to the head or other constable, authorized 
to receive them, and resume their arms." Each man is required to have, at all times, twenty 
rounds of ball-cartridge in his pouch. 



THE CONSTABULARY. 



31 



prior to that time, constables were appointed by courts leet, and by magistrates 
in quarter-sessions. By the 27 Geo. III. cap. 40, the lord-lieutenant was 
empowered to divide counties into districts, consisting of one or more baronies, 
and to appoint a chief constable to each district. The grand juries were 
empowered to appoint sixteen sub -constables, " being Protestants" in each 
district. This act was only carried into effect in thirteen counties. In 1792 
another act was passed 
(32 Geo. III., cap. 16), 
authorizing the grand 
juries of the remaining 
counties to appoint not 
more than eight con- 
stables in every barony 
or half barony. The 
grand juries were also 
to raise two pounds 
per man once in twelve 
years, for arms and ac- 
coutrements, with the 
same allowance to 
" armed Protestants," 
as in the former act. 

The constables ap- 
pointed under the 
above acts, although 
armed, wore no uni- 
form, and in general, 
if not universally, fol- 
lowed their ordinary occupations : they were found so very inefficient, that in 
1814, Sir Robert Peel, then chief secretary, introduced what is generally 
termed the "Peace Preservation Act," (54 Geo. III. c. 131,*) by which the 
lord-lieutenant was empowered to appoint for any district comprising a county, 

* The force employed under this act were universally known by the cognomen of " Peelers ; " 
and for a considerable time afterwards the name was so obnoxious to the peasantry, that the 
service became one of great danger, as well as odium; it was therefore found exceedingly 
difficult to induce men of good habits to join it. 




THE CONSTABULARY. 



32 THE CONSTABULARY. 



or one or more baronies proclaimed by the privy council as in a state of dis- 
turbance, a chief magistrate, a chief constable, and fifty sub-constables, whose 
functions were to cease on the district being declared tranquil. By this act, 
provision was made for the continuance of the baronial constables appointed 
under the acts of 1787 and 1792. 

The Peace Preservation Act having been found to answer to a certain 
•extent the object for which it had been framed, induced the government to 
introduce a more general measure ; accordingly, in 1822, the Constabulary Act 
was passed. By this act, the lord-lieutenant is empowered to appoint one 
inspector-general, two deputy inspectors-general (to be resident in Dublin), 
four provincial inspectors, thirty-five sub-inspectors (now called county in- 
spectors) — one for each county and riding, one chief constable (now called sub- 
inspector), two head constables, and sixteen constables and sub- constables for 
each barony, half-barony, or other division of a barony ; also one receiver and 
eighteen paymasters, and a limited number of paid magistrates. 

The men nominated by the inspectors-general were selected without refer- 
ence to their religious faith, and not until after strict inquiry into their 
characters and general fitness for the service, as regarded both their literate 
and physical * qualifications ; and, as a further improvement, they were re- 
moved from among their own relations and friends, and from local influence — ■ 
the bane of all discipline. There was altogether a great change for the better 
in the order and cleanliness of their barracks, which before this period were 
not paid much attention to. But a much more important result was produced 
by a change of system, and its consequent effect on the discipline of the esta- 
blishment ; namely, confidence on the part of the people in general in its 
members, and which has continued to increase as the discipline of the force 
has advanced, and all religious distinctions in the selections of its members 
have disappeared. The consequence is, that from having been an unpopular 
force, it is now quite the reverse. It is a remarkable fact that, interspersed as 
the Protestants and Roman Catholics are, in about 1400 barracks all over 

* The act requires that every sub-constable should be able to read and write, and be an able- 
bodied man. No man is taken under five feet eight inches in height. The height of the men now 
in the service is as follows : — 



6 ft. 3 in. and upwards 23 

G 2 161 

6 1 50(3 

6 1,104 



5 ft. 11 in. and upwards 1,?94 

5 10 2,921 

5 9 4,023 

5 8 1,518 



THE CONSTABULARY. 33 



the kingdom, it is of extremely rare ocurrence indeed that any difference has 
arisen on the score of religion.* The relative numbers of the two at present 
amount to — 

Roman Catholics 7,798 

Protestants 4,703 

The duties of the constabulary are multifarious and onerous, and are 
becoming, every day, more and more so. In fact, whatever is to be done is 
expected to be performed by it. The constabulary is now the great machine 
by which almost every measure is worked, and there is no doubt that it 
is becoming gradually of greater political importance ; therefore, the more 
care should be taken not to make its members politicians, or to depend on 
political influence. It should be— and it is as much as possible — kept a 
distinct body — that is, distinct from all political considerations. 

Thus, then, in a national point of view the constabulary force has been, and 
is, of the greatest advantage to Ireland, whether considered socially or morally. 
In the first place, it is a * comfortable and respectable provision for 12,000 of 
her natives, who, from the lives which they are obliged to lead, acquire orderly, 
sober, cleanly, and respectful habits and manners ; the prospect, too, of rising 
by good conduct and intelligence to the rank of officers, is not only an incentive 
to the former, but has induced the sons of very many highly respectable 
gentlemen to enter the establishment : and as no person is eligible to enter it 
who cannot read and write, it has, from this circumstance, effected more 
towards the education of the people than is perhaps generally known. 

The great desire to obtain appointments in the force, and the disgrace attached 
to a dismissal from it, show the value the people set on a situation in it.f 

With respect to the appointment of officers, the present government have 
made a regulation that no appointment is to be considered confirmed until the 
individual nominated has served a probation of six months, to give the inspector- 
general an opportunity of judging as to his fitness, &c. : this has only reference 

* We inquired from many of the men, of both religions, whether their opposite principles 
prevented their living in harmony or acting in concert ; and were assured that the subject was 
seldom canvassed among them, and very rarely indeed led to "ill-blood." It is notorious that 
in the army difference of religion never leads to discord : we rejoiced to find it was the case, also, 
in this force. 

+ The resignations are principally of men -who have obtained better situations (members of the 
force being very much sought for by gentlemen and others requiring steady and efficient servants 
or assistants), or of men wishing to avoid the disgrace of dismissal. 



34 THE CONSTABULARY. 



to original appointments. All promotions in the force are made on the recom- 
mendation of the inspector-general.* 

These arrangements have had a powerful effect in stimulating the force, 
generally, to an upright, impartial, and zealous performance of their duties, 
and have diffused an " esprit " through the entire establishment, which did 
not before exist, and which has added much to its efficiency, as well as to its 
respectability. The temper, forbearance under provocation, patience under 
fatigue, and strict impartiality, exhibited by the constabulary at riots, con- 
tested elections, and other occasions, have frequently been the subject of just 
commendation. A stronger proof cannot be adduced to sustain this assertion, 
than the fact, that it has very rarely occurred, particularly of late years, 
that a life has been lost in any affair in which the constabulary have been 
concerned (which is saving much for an armed body)', or that any member of 
that body has been brought to trial, or reported, for intemperance in the 
execution of his duty. 

According to the latest returns (1853), Ireland is divided into thirty-five 
constabulary districts, over each of which a County Inspector is placed; and 
these are again divided into (generally) seven sub-districts, over each of which 
is placed a Sub-Inspector. The number of stations amount at present to 1,590. 
The force consists of an Inspector-General, 2 Deputy Inspectors- General, 
2 Assistant Inspectors-General, a Surgeon, Veterinary Surgeon ; 35 County 
Inspectors, 248 Sub-Inspectors ; 332 Head Constables, 1,707 Constables, and 
J 0,051 Sub-Constables: total, 12,381; with 352 horses. The maintenance of 
this force in 1851 amounted to 494,175/. 16s. Q^d., including the expense 
of 71 Stipendiary Magistrates, whose annual salaries are, — 1 at 605/. 7 s. ; 2 at 

* The present inspector-general is General Duncan M'Gregor, an officer of great experience 
derived from services in various parts of the world. It is admitted on all hands, that no man 
is better calculated to occupy so important a position ; and he has succeeded — a task by no means 
easy — in governing the force without incurring the charge of recognising the existence of any 
party. Indeed, the great efficacy of the establishment arises to a considerable extent from the 
fact, that its chief officers have been enabled to remove all suspicion of being biassed by 
undue motives, and to the respect and esteem in which the inspector-general is universally held. 
He is emphatically " popular " among all classes. In every instance in which we consulted 
either the officers or the men, upon the essential point whether they had confidence in their 
"commander-in-chief," Ave received but one answer — generally given with a feeling akin to 
personal affection. General M'Gregor had been known to the world previously to his appointment 
in Ireland ; it was this officer who published an account of the " Loss of the Kent Indiaman by 
fire, in the Bay of Biscay "—and to whose own share of exertion on that melancholy occasion 
testimony has been borne by every survivor— except himself. 



THE C0NSTABTJLA11Y. 



461/. 10,?. 9d. ; 60 at 400/., and 8 at 350/., with extra allowances for clerks 
and stationery, and in some cases for lodgings, forage, travelling expenses, and 
absences at a distance from head-qnarters. The proportion of the expense of 
the force charged on the Consolidated Eund was 459,392/. 6,?. 9^d. } and the 
amount borne by the counties, cities and towns of Ireland, by last return for 
the year ending December 31st, 1851, was 34,783/. 9*. 9rf.* 

The annual salaries are, to the Inspector-General, 1300/., Deputy Inspector 
General, 1200/., second ditto, 800/., Provincial Inspectors each 500/., County 
Inspectors (first, second, aud third rate) averaging 260/. each ; sub-inspectors 
(first, second, and third rate) averaging 130/. each ; head constables, first rate, 
60/. second rate 50/. ; mounted constable, 32/. 7s. ; constable, 32/. 7s. ; sub- 
constable, first rate, 27/. 14s. ; second rate, 24/. There are, however, sundry 
allowances, the principal of which are, "while attending assizes or quarter 
sessions, while marching from one county to another; or on any duty 
causing a necessary absence from home during the night." There is on 
an average one policeman (including head constables) to every 1000 of the 
population throughout Ireland, including the cities and towns, with the excep- 
tion of Dublin, where a distinct force is employed ; and one policeman (including 
also head constables) for every four square miles throughout the country. "We 
were curious to ascertain, indirectly, the condition of the various counties of 
Ireland, as exhibited by the amount of the force stationed in each, and 
looked with some interest through the list that gave its distribution ; the 
result was illustrative of the comparative tranquillity of the north as 
compared with that of the south — in all the counties except the southern county 
of Kerry. Thus, in Antrim county there is one policeman to every 1730 
inhabitants and every six square miles ; in Londonderry county, one to 
every 2344 inhabitants and every 8f square miles ; in Kerry, one to every 
1599 inhabitants and every 10 square miles; in Louth, one to every 272 
inhabitants and every If- square miles ; in the Queen's county, one to every 
430 inhabitants and every 1 T ^- square miles ; in Cork county, one to every 
1178 inhabitants and every 4f square miles ; and in Tipperary county (strongly 
contrasting the peace of one district of it with the other), in the northern 

* We are indebted for some of the foregoing statistics to Mr. Thorn's excellent Trish Almanac 
and Directory. His statistics of Ireland are accurate, clear and concise ; and the information he 
gives, far surpasses that contained in any other almanac in the empire. 

D 2 



36 THE CONSTABULARY. 



district, one to every 514 inhabitants and every If square miles, and in the 
southern district, one to every 1952 inhabitants and every 7| square miles. 
The number of stations where a sub-inspector is stationed amounts to 220 ; 
the number of stations where a party of the force is stationed throughout 
Ireland, amounts to 1363; the number quartered in each being of course 
dependent upon peculiar circumstances, but averaging from five to ten. 

Notwithstanding the superior mental and physical attainments required for 
the Constabulary, the cost of the whole force is less than that of an equal 
number of her majesty's troops, — the difference being, according to Sir Francis 
Head, nearly as follows : — 10,000 police, with their officers and staff, cost 
2,000/. a year less than 10,000 troops without staff. The average annual 
expense of the clothing of the Constabulary is as follows : — 

Infantry, per man £1 5*. 5|c?. 

Cavalry 1 19 1 

The discipline is enforced with mildness, but with firmness ; and more through 
the efficacy of rewards than punishments. Every man in the force feels 
confident that neither his zealous services nor his demerits will pass unnoticed. 
Accordingly, they all do their duty " with a heart," and become attached to 
the service, confident that good conduct must lead to honourable distinction. 
Promotion always "looms in the future." Whenever a constable displays in 
the course of his duty extraordinary zeal or courage, he receives a chevron, 
which he wears a la militaire upon the left arm of his jacket. Thus he 
becomes at once conspicuous among his comrades. Should he again dis- 
tinguish himself, he receives another and another ; and it is scarcely necessary 
to add that such constables are always the first to receive promotion to 
positions for which they are qualified in their districts. These chevrons also 
entitle the possessor, on retiring from the service, to a substantial acknow- 
ledgment from "the Reward Eund" — if a head constable, 6/., and if a 
constable or sub-constable the sum of 4>l., for each chevron ; and in the event 
of his death in the service, these sums are paid to his widow or children. 

As to matrimony, its blessings are only extended to £th of the force, and then, 
even, it is still placed under some restrictions : but at present the propriety of 
relaxing these stringent regulations is under consideration. Eor five years 
the new recruit is not permitted to take unto himself a wedded wife under 
any circumstances; after the expiration of that period, any constable may 



THE CONSTABULARY. 37 



enter his name as a " Candidate Bachelor ; " and as vacancies occur, by the 
retirement &c. of married men from the force, the candidate, after a careful 
inquiry into the " character and respectability " of his " lady-love," is permitted 
to wed. 

The Mounted or Cavalry Constabulary are also a fine body of men. Their 
force is equally well appointed ; and for intelligence, sobriety, and attention to 
their multifarious and complicated duties, cannot be surpassed. 

We must bear in mind that this great force is not centralized, under the 
immediate surveillance of experienced officers, but that it is scattered over the 
whole of Ireland in small detachments of three, four, and five, and that it is only 
visited at times by their officers. Thus the men are thrown almost altogether 
upon their own resources and judgment — often in cases of severe trial, re- 
quiring wisdom, temper, and experience of no ordinary amount. Remembering 
these things, it is impossible to withhold our admiration from the whole of 
this valuable department. What an example does it afford of the facility 
with which the Irish peasant may be moulded, by the powers of a firm and 
generous hand, into intelligence, loyalty, civilization and discipline ! 

We do not hesitate to assert that a better Constabulary never existed in any 
country ; and we feel assured that such will be the conclusion at which every 
Tourist will arrive, be his sojourn long or short in the country. We recom- 
mend him in all cases of difficulty to apply for aid or information to the Con- 
stabulary — either at their barracks, or to any single patrol. Sure we are that 
everywhere he will receive assistance, courteously rendered: and that to the Con- 
stabulary he will owe some of his best impressions of the country. 

The Dublin Metropolitan Police consists of 7 Superintendents, 24 In- 
spectors, 100 Sergeants, 1,000 Constables, and about 50 Candidates in training; 
total, 1,181. The annual expense of the force of the Divisional Police Officers 
in 1850, was 71,900/. The income arises from 21,500/., police-rate; 5,650/. 
from carriage-tax, licences, &c; 3,876/. 19s. from pawnbroker's licences; 
3,300/. from fees, fines, &c. ; and 273/. from incidental sources, with a 
parliamentary grant of 35,500/. The salaries of the two Commissioners of 
Police, 840/. each, are paid out of the consolidated fund, and are not a charge 
upon the police establishment.* 

* The Dublin Constabulary is under the command of Colonel Brown (a brother of Mrs. He- 
mans), a distinguished officer, ■who saw much service during the Peninsular War. 




38 CATIIEDBAL OF ST. PATRICK. 



S we have said, few of the public structures of Dublin 
possess "the beauty of age," but many of its churches may 
be classed with the "ancient of days." ■ Chief among them 
all is the Cathedral of St. Patrick ; interesting not alone 
from its antiquity, but from its association with the several 
leading events, and remarkable people, by which and by 
whom Ireland has been made " famous." It is situated in a very old 
part of Dublin, in the midst of low streets and alleys, the houses being 
close to the small open yard by which the venerable structure is encom- 
passed. Its condition, too, was until lately very wretched ; and although 
various suggestions had been made, from time to time, for its repair and 
renovation, it continued in a state by no means creditable either to the church 
or the city, until a few years ago, when, large sums having been raised by pri- 
vate subscription, the interior of the edifice was subjected to extensive altera- 
tions and repairs. These works having been completed in a most satisfactory 
manner, attention was directed to the dilapidated condition of a great portion of 
the exterior. Here, also, much of the ancient and decayed masonry has been 
replaced by solid blocks of stone, and the external effect of the cathedral has 
been greatly improved ; but it is to be regretted that the funds applicable bear 
so small a proportion to the extent of the building, that several years must elapse 
before the works now in progress are completed. It was built a.d. 1190, by 
John Comyn, archbishop of Dublin, by whom it was dedicated to the patron 
saint of Ireland ; but, it is said, the site on which it stands was formerly 
occupied by a church erected by the saint himself — a.d. 448*. 

* St. Patrick's was collegiate in its first institution, and erected into a cathedral about the year 
1225, by Henry de Loundres, successor to Archbishop Comyn, "united with the cathedral of the 
Holy Trinity, Christ's Church, Dublin, into one spouse, saving unto the latter the prerogative of 
honour." The question of precedence between the sees of Dublin and Armagh was agitated for 
centuries with the greatest violence, and both pleaded authority in support of their pretensions ; 
it was at length determined, in 1552, that each should be entitled to primatial dignity, and erect 
his crosier in the diocese of the other : that the archbishop of Dublin should be titled the 
"Primate of Ireland;" while the archbishop of Armagh should be styled, with more precision, 
"Primate of all Ireland"— a distinction which continues to the present day. Above two 
centuries before this arrangement, however, as the diocese of Dublin contained two cathedrals — 
St. Patrick's and Christ Church— an agreement was made between the chapters of both, that each 
church should be called Cathedral and Metropolitan, but that Christ Church should have 
precedence, as being the elder church, and that the archbishops should be buried alternately in 
the two cathedrals. 



CATHEDRAL OF ST. PATRICK. 



39 



The vaults of St. Patrick's Cathedral contain the remains of Dean Swift, and 
** Stella," his unhappy admirer. A bust of Stella, in the aisle, preserves her 
memory. In the interior of the cathedral there are several monuments, more 
remarkable for their gorgeous splendour than for the historical importance of 
the persons whose memories they preserve. The finest of them is that of Richard, 




st. Patrick's cathedral. 

Earl of Cork, erected in the reign of Charles the First. A modest inscription 
in one of the walls informs the stranger that the mortal remains of the Duke de 
Schomberg, who was slain at the battle of the Boyne, obtained their last resting- 
place in the vaults of St. Patrick. Over the inscription the cannon-ball by 
which he met his death is suspended by a chain. The capitals of the octan- 
gular shafts, from which the arches spring that support the roof, are greatly 
admired. They exhibit some very beautiful specimens of the Varying and 
upright foliage of the 13th century, in no respect inferior to the best specimens 



40 



CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST CHURCH. 



in Salisbury Cathedral or York Minster. Pull cathedral service is celebrated 
here every Wednesday and Friday at 3 o'clock ; and the service, particularly 
upon Sundays (at the same hour) is most impressive. 

The sweeping censure of Sir Richard Colt Hoare, that " in point of good 
architecture it has little to notice or commend," is not to be questioned ; ruins 
— and St. Patrick's narrowly escaped being classed among them — of far greater 
beauty abound in Ireland. The prevailing architectural character throughout 
the exterior is that of the early pointed style, with not a few incongruous 
additions, probably the improvements of later days. It is to its associations 
with the past that the cathedral is mainly indebted for its interest. The 
choral music of St. Patrick's is said to be " almost unrivalled for its com- 
bined powers of voice, organ, and scientific skill." 




CHRIST CHUItCH. 

The Cathedral of Christ Church was, it is said, originally erected in the 
year 1038, by Sitricus, the son of Amlave, king of the Oastmen of Dublin, and 
Donat or Dunan, the first Oastman bishop, who was buried in the choir, at the 
right-hand side of the communion table, 1074. Its architectural beauties are even 
less than those of its rival, although it contains some "good examples of Saxon 
ornaments." " The choir," writes Sir Richard Hoare, presents " a sad medley 
of Gothic and Italian architecture, combined in the most unnatural manner." 



CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST CHURCH. 



41 



* Its walls 



Christ Church is, however, in a better condition than St. Patrick's, 
entomb the dust of Strongbow, the great Anglo- 
Norman conqueror of Ireland. He died in 
Dublin "about the Kalends of June," a.d. 
1177, of mortification in the foot; and his 
remains were interred in this cathedral. A 
monument to his memory was erected, but not 
until two centuries after his death, by Sir 
Henry Sidney, Lord President. It consists 
of two figures of hewn stone; the one repre- 
senting a knight in armour, the other a 
female, his consort Eva, lying by his side. Sir 
Richard Hoare, however, although he admits the 
probability that " the conqueror " was interred 
here, entertains " some doubt if the effigy has 
been rightly attributed to him;" grounded on 
the fact that the arms on the shield of the knight 
are not similar to those described as belonging 
to him " by Enderbie, and also an ancient manu- 
script by George Owen." That Sir Henry 
Sidney considered the monument to be veritable, 
is evidenced by the following inscription, en- 
graved upon a slab let into the wall above it -. — strongeow's tom. 

this: avncyent: monvment: of: rychard: strasgeowe : called: comes: strangv- 
lenis : lord : of : chepsto . and : ogny : the : fyrst : and : princ ipall : 
invader : of: irland : 1169: avi : obiit : 1177: the: monvment: was: broken: 
by : the : fall : of : thic : roff : AND : BODYE : of : crystes : chvrche : in : 
an : 1562 : and : set : up : agayn : at : the : chargys : of : the : right : 
honorable : sr : heniri .* sidney : knyght : of : the : noble : order : l : 
president : wailes : l : depvty : of : irland . 1570f. 




* Some of the records connected with Christ Church are very curious. In this cathedral, "in 
1487, Lambert Simnell, the impostor, was crowned by the title of Edward VI. The crown used 
on the occasion was borrowed from a statue of the Virgin, which stood in the church of St. Mary- 
les Dames, and shortly after he received the homage of the citizens in the Castle. In 1508, 
Robert Castele, alias Payneswick, a canon regular of the priory of Lanthony, was installed on 
the 4th of July ; and the same year the staff of St. Patrick, which was brought hither from 
Armagh, as a relic of great estimation, was publicly burned. In 1559, a parliament was held in 
a room in this cathedral, called the Commons'-house." 

t The following is Cambrensis' portrait of the renowned knight: — " The earl was somewhat 



42 CHURCH OF ST. MICHAN. 



Of the other churches of Dublin, the only one that demands particular notice 
is that of St. Michan ; if we except the Church of St. Anne, which entombs 
the body of Eelicia Hemans ; and where, in memory of whom, there should be I 
some public record worthy of her pure mind and lofty genius.— St. Michan' s 
Church has no claim to attention for any architectural beauty ; it is, like most 
other old churches in Ireland, merely a plain cruciform building of dark coloured ' 
stone, its only ornament being a large square tower containing the belfry, 
through which is the principal entrance. But it is remarkable for its vaults, ! 
which possess an extraordinary property of preserving the bodies deposited there ! 
from decay ; and, what is nearly as singular, they are not infested by rats — j 
a fact to which the state of the bodies, in the absence of other evidence, would i 
sufficiently testify.* 

ruddie and of sanguine complexion and freckle faced, his eies grei, his face feminine, his voice i 
small, and his necke little, but somewhat of a high stature. He was very liberall, courteous, and 
gentle ; what he could not compasse and bring to passe in deed, he would win by good words and i 
gentle speeches. In time of peace, he was more readie to yeeld and obeie than to rule and beare | 
swaie. Out of the campe he was more like to a soul dior companion than a capteine or ruler ; 
but in the campe and in the warres he caried with him the state and countenance of a valiant 
capteine. Of himselfe he would not adventure anie thing, but being advised and set on he ] 
refused no attempts; for of himselfe, he would not rashly adventure or presumptiouslie take 
anie thing in hand. In the fight and battle he was a most assured token and signe to the whole 
companie, either to stand valiantlie to the tight or for policie to retire. In all chances of warre, i 
he was still one and the same maner of man, being neither dismaid with adversitie nor puffed up 
with prosperitie." 

The Earl of Pembroke, surnamed Strongbow, came over to Ireland with a company of gallant i 
knights with the consent of Henry 11. in 1162, to assist Dermod king of Leinster, against 
O'Connor king of Ireland, by whom Dermod had been deprived of his principal possessions. 
The king of Leinster promised him his daughter in marriage and his crown in reversion, if 
successful. Strongbow came accordingly, and recovered his lost possessions, and when in 1171 
Dermod died, Strongbow became king of Leinster, including the metropolis. Henry on hearing 
of the success of the earl became jealous ; but Strongbow went over to England, and by sur- 
rendering Dublin to him, and agreeing to hold the province from him as his liege, he appeased 
the wrath of the English monarch. 

* The bodies in the state of best preservation are in a small vault under the right angle of the 
transept, one of which is said to be the body of St. Michan, laid there two hundred years ago- 
It is that of a man of short stature, and is still quite perfect. The nails continue on the hands 
and feet, and the entire of the flesh and skin remains on the bones. From the process of drying, 
the flesh is considerably shrunken on the limbs and the abdomen, and the parts below the chest 
are sunken ; so that in shape the body resembles that of a person very much wasted away by 
sickness. The flesh is tough to the touch, but not so hard as that of a mummy; nor is the skin 
black, like a mummy's, but brown and leathery, much resembling the cover of an old book in 
the species of binding called law calf. The covering and ornaments (if there ever were any) of 
the coffin in which it lies have long since mouldered away; and the whole has certainly the 
appearance of being very old. In one corner of this vault there are about twenty dead bodies 
and parts of bodies, bones, and covers and sides of coffins, in a confused heap. There are also 



NATIONAL EDUCATION. 43 




|ERY essential to our notice of Dublin, and properly, per- 
haps, associated with these notices of its ancient churches, 
will be some observations concerning the system of " Na- 
tional Education " — for it is a theme upon which every 
Tourist in Ireland will require information. We shall 
endeavour to treat the subject briefly : yet it absolutely requires 
space. 

The value of education to all classes of a community, from the 
highest to the lowest, is now acknowledged universally : it is only 
as to the safest and wisest mode of bestowing education that men 
differ and dispute. It is admitted, not alone to open up new sources 
of rational enjoyment to mankind, and to give individuals increased " power ;" 
but to aid in extending and establishing virtue, in bettering the social condition, 
and in augmenting national strength. Those who so consider, and so describe, 
it, cannot, therefore, hesitate to accept as an axiom, that to encourage, 
promote, and increase education, is a duty of the State. State assistance is 
required only by persons disabled, from local circumstances or pecuniary dis- 
advantages, from obtaining it by other means : to such it should be freely given, 
and on a scale commensurate with the want of it. Unhappily, however, in 
Ireland, there are difficulties in the way of educating the people generally, 
which human wisdom cannot altogether remove : they are peculiar ; exceedingly 
disheartening ; often wilfully, if not wantonly, raised ; consequently, not to be 
dealt with by any ordinary process ; and greatly embarrass any Government, 
that would legislate for the benefit and improvement of that country. 

We have often had occasion to observe upon the avidity with which the Irish 

several entire coffins, some new and perfect, a few old and broken. But notwithstanding the 
mass of corpses in this little chamber, which is not more than about twelve feet square and very- 
low, there is not the least offensive odour; and from the great dryness of the soil, not even the 
disagreeable smell usual in underground vaults. The principal vaults are in a long corridor 
under the centre of the church, off which there are thirteen chambers ; most of these are the 
burying-places of particular families. In one of these were deposited the remains of the two 
unfortunate brothers Sheares, who were executed for rebellion in 1798. They were, until the 
last few years, in a state of perfect preservation ; but for some reason or other have been removed 
to a vault nearer the entrance of the passage, which is not as dry as the rest, and indeed seems 
the only damp vault among them. They have since rapidly decomposed, and are now almost 
mere skeletons. They lie in two uncovered coffins by the side of each other, their skulls still 
remaining on their chests, where their severed heads were placed after their execution. 



44 NATIONAL EDUCATION. 



seek, and have always sought, knowledge. This is indisputable. The ground 
was, therefore, prepared for the seed ; yet, for centuries, a most cruel policy 
not only permitted it to remain waste and unprofitable, but actually made its 
cultivation penal ; and when, at length, a more rational and generous principle 
prevailed, and education was not only tolerated but encouraged, the result 
was scarcely more advantageous to the people ; for the mode in which it was 
proffered was so opposed to their prejudices, and, as they imagined, their 
interests, that they refused to receive it upon the terms on which alone it was 
to be obtained. 

A brief review of the various plans for promoting what has been termed 
" National " Education in Ireland, may be desirable. 

From a very early period, the clergy of the Established Church in Ireland 
were bound by oath, on admission to a benefice, to teach, or cause to be taught, 
the English language in schools under their control ; but the statutes which so 
provided, fell into desuetude ; the clergy very generally considered they ful- 
filled the contract by subscribing to one or other of the societies for promoting 
instruction ; and cases are recorded of their so literally construing the obliga- 
tion, as to believe it terminated when " there were no children in their parishes 
ignorant of the English tongue ; " — and yet they so argued, perhaps, neither 
irrationally nor unjustly ; for the act of Elizabeth, to which we principally refer, 
was, undoubtedly, part and parcel of the state-project for extirpating the 
"mere Irish " in name and in fact.* Out of this enactment grew the "Diocesan 
Free Schools." These have been considered in a report of the "Board of 
Education," bearing date the 21st April, 1809. It then appeared that " only 
ten of the dioceses were provided with school-houses in proper repair ; " 
that " the whole number of effective schools in all the dioceses together was 
but thirteen;" that "the whole number of scholars in all the schools did not 
exceed 380 ; " and that " twelve out of thirty-four dioceses contributed nothing 
towards the object." In fact, the diocesan schools became mere private specu- 

* The same policy was unhappily carried down to an age much nearer our own. One of the 
" penal statutes " enacted, that " whatsoever person of the Popish religion shall publicly teach at 
a school, or shall instruct youth in learning in any private house within this realm, or shall be 
entertained to instruct youth in learning, as usher, under-usher, or assistant, by any Protestant 
master, be esteemed or taken to be a Popish regular clergyman, and shall be prosecuted as such, 
and incur such pains, penalties, and forfeitures, as any Popish regular convict is liable to by the 
laws and statutes of this realm." A reward of ten pounds was given to any person " discovering 
a Popish schoolmaster or usher." 



NATIONAL EDUCATION. 45 



lations ; the master derived a pittance of £40 per annum from the diocese ; 
a degree of dignity was conferred upon his " establishment ; " and he received 
scholars, and remuneration for teaching them, as ordinary school-keepers do. 

By Charles I., also, schools in Ireland were founded and endowed ; and the 
second Charles granted several large estates for their maintenance. In 1809, 
the numbers of boys then in course of education in these schools were 187 
boarders, and 114 day scholars ; all of whom paid liberally for their education. 
To describe these schools as " National " was, therefore, a mockery. 

The " charter schools " were incorporated by act of the Irish Parliament in 
1733. These schools were objectionable on other and stronger grounds ; the 
avowed object of their "incorporation" was to teach the "poor Irish" the 
"English language and the Protestant religion." They were consequently 
viewed with dislike, amounting to abhorrence, by the great mass of the people 
and their teachers. Yet between the years 1789 and 1817, they received grants 
from Parliament to the extent of £554,713 12s. 9d. Irish currency; averaging 
£30,000 per annum, independently of the annual income of the Society, not 
less than £10,000 ; while the average number of scholars was scarcely 2,000. 

" The Association for Discountenancing Vice " was incorporated in 1800; it 
was supported by "voluntary contributions," but was, if we mistake not, 
originally formed merely for the issue of books. Schools were established in 
connexion with the Association about six years after its commencement ; and 
for these parliamentary aid was obtained — of various amounts, but which for 
two or three years extended to 10,000/. per annum. According to Dr. Elring- 
ton, in his evidence before the House of Lords, the numbers educated in these 
schools were, in 1822, 5479 Protestants, and 4672 Roman Catholics; in 1828, 
13,189 Protestants, and 5494 Roman Catholics ; and in 1830 (after the 
withdrawal of the grant), 10,014 Protestants, and 3772 Roman Catholics. 
" National," therefore, assuredly, these schools were not. 

In 1812 a new association, known as " The Kildare Street Society," sprang 
into existence. It was, at once, largely and liberally patronised ; its members 
were a " numerous and influential body," and its exertions were infinitely 
more commensurate with the wants of the people. Great good was undoubt- 
edly effected by it ; but it had to encounter the insurmountable difficulties 
raised by its predecessors— of prejudice, suspicion, and mistrust ; and although 
based upon principles far more liberal, it was not framed altogether with 



46 NATIONAL EDUCATION. 



a view to convince the mass of the community of the wisdom, charity, or 
generosity of its proceedings. The Society expressly prohibited, attempts at 
proselytism; and. yielded, indeed, upon nearly all points on which the Roman 
Catholics demanded concession — upon all save one; they required that the 
Scriptures should be read in their schools. Unhappily this was a barrier they 
could not overleap ; here the Society was compelled to stop ; and thus were, 
for all practical purposes, as far from the goal as if they had never made an 
effort to reach it. 

Before we proceed to consider the " National Board," which at present 
holds jurisdiction over " national education in Ireland," it will be desirable to 
offer a few remarks upon the condition, as regards instruction, of the Irish 
people, who, all this while, were in little or no degree benefited by the national 
supply of means for their improvement — liberal as it undoubtedly was for 
upwards of half a century. 

The " Irish schoolmaster " has been pictured by nearly every writer of 
fiction who has dealt with Irish character ; and although commonly represented 
as odious and dangerous, the portrait has been seldom overdrawn. The high 
estimate in which the people, generally, hold " learning," — a fact on which we 
cannot lay too much stress, — induced them not only to tolerate his evil habits, 
but tacitly to allow him a very perilous influence over their principles and 
conduct. Upon this topic it is needless to enlarge; there is abundant 
evidence by which the origin of nearly every illegal association may be traced 
to the cabin of a village schoolmaster. The " school-houses " were, for the 
most part, wretched hovels, in which the boys and girls mixed indiscriminately; 
usually damp, and always unhealthy ; so dark that it was a common practice 
for the pupils to learn their lessons among the adjacent hedges ; and if they 
acquired knowledge, it was, not unfrequently, knowledge that led to evil rather 
than to good. Mr. Wakefield gives a list of the books in use about thirty 
years ago, which he calls " The Cottage Classics of Ireland." * 

* " History of the Seven Champions ; " " History of Fair Rosamond and Jane Shore ; " " Ovid's 
Art of Love ; " "Irish Rogues and Rapparees ; " "Francis, a notorious Robber, teaching the most 
dexterous art of Thieving;" "History of celebrated Pirates;" "Moll Flanders;" "The Devil 
and Doctor Faustus ; " " History of Witches and Apparitions," &c. &c. &c. The ballads in 
common circulation were of a still worse character : we have an extensive collection now before 
us ; a large proportion of them are political, filled with the very worst sentiments ; others 
contain expressions of sympathy for men who have died on the gallows ; and all are pregnant 
with danger. 



NATIONAL EDUCATION. 47 



These remarks are necessary in order to exhibit, by contrast, the advantages 
obtained by a new order of things. 

And so, we proceed to treat of the existing " Board for the superintendence 
of a System of National Education in Ireland ;" — believing it to be, ail circum- 
stances considered, the wisest and most rational project that has been devised 
for educating the people ; and the surest to attain the great aim and object of 
all education — right acting from right thinking.* Upon "the Board," as 
originally constituted, there " was not a single member in whom the Protestants 
of Ireland had the least reliance," — whether they ought or ought not to have 
had confidence in its judgment, integrity, and impartiality, is another question; 
but the Board was, undoubtedly, so framed as to increase rather than to allay 
the apprehensions generally entertained by the Protestants of Ireland, that 
" the education scheme " was a plan for their " discouragement." This feeling, 
thus created, was certainly not diminished when they saw the school-houses 
spring up in the chapel-yards, or immediately adjacent to the Boman Catholic 
chapels, and the Boman Catholic clergymen employing and paying the masons 
who built them, nominating the masters, and supplying the books.f The unfor- 
tunate result was, that the Protestants generally, and their clergy almost 
entirely, stood aloof from all contact with " the Board," declined to receive 
any portion of the State money, and permitted the Boman Catholics to possess 
unlimited control over the funds granted for the benefit of the whole community. J 

* The contemplated appointment of "the Board" was first announced in a letter — dated 
October, 1831 — addressed by Mr. Secretary Stanley (now Earl of Derby) to the Duke of Leinster. 
It is expedient to extract the following passage from it : — 

"The Commissioners, in 1812, recommended the appointment of a beard of this description to 
superintend a system of education from which should be banished even the suspicion of proselytism, 
and which, admitting children of all religious persuasions, should not interfere with the peculiar 
tenets of any." 

Lord Stanley— some time afterwards— thus more definitely described the object of the plan : — 
" To diminish the violence of religious animosities by the association of Protestant and Roman 
Catholic children in a system of education in which both might join, and in which the large 
majority, who were opposed to the religion of the State, might practically see how much there 
was in that religion common to their own;" and he further adds, as the main purpose of the 
institution—" to give the great bulk of the Eoman Catholic population as extensive a knowledge 
of Scripture as they could be induced to receive." 

t We are fully aware that this fact is met, on the part of " the Board," by the assertion, that 
wherever a school was so built, it was because no other piece of ground was to be procured in the 
neighbourhood; and that, in erecting a school thus contiguous to a chapel, they had only 
"Hobson's choice." 

J Unhappily, a cry was raised against the projected scheme from the very moment of its 



48 NATIONAL EDUCATION. 



Within the last few years, however, the clergy of the Established Church 
have generally resolved to pursue an opposite course, and now consider it their 
duty as well as their interest — first, to give to their flocks all the advantages 
freely offered them, and which are their unquestioned right ; next, to exercise 
their privilege of inspecting the schools in their several parishes; next, to 
superintend the spiritual and temporal instruction of such members of their 
own church as are pupils in these schools ; and next, to build, at the public 
expense, the schools that may be necessary for the education of the people 
committed to their charge. 

They at length discovered that they threw, by their conduct, a vast amount 
of power into the hands of the Roman Catholic priests, and they have of late 
endeavoured, by patronising the National Schools and increasing their number 
in their parishes, to retrieve lost ground. And it is somewhat singular to find 
the ultramontane party, who have now a clear preponderance in Roman Catholic 
councils, committing the very mistake of which the Protestant clergy were 
guilty when they threw off all connexion with the Board, because they were 
not permitted to have complete control over its acts. 

We should far exceed our limits if we were to attempt entering upon the 
less important points in dispute, or detailing the various arguments advanced, 
pro and con, in reference to this institution. We must regard the existing 
" Board for superintending the Education of the Irish people," as a mighty 
engine for their moral and social improvement ; believing that mistaken 
notions of religion will be far more surely removed by knowledge than 
by ignorance; and knowing that, whatever defects may exist in the present 
system, it is immeasurably superior to the old methods of educating the 
lower classes of the Irish. In lieu of the schoolmasters of former times, — 
whose characters we have briefly sketched, — have been substituted a set of 
men, properly taught and prepared for their important task in the " model 

announcement— upon the ground that the reading of the Scriptures, entire, was not to be insisted 
upon in the schools. The Kildare-street Society had made this a sine qua non; although they 
permitted the use of the Douay version ; but they expressly forbade any interpretation of the 
sacred volume, or of any passages thereof, as an infringement of their primary rule against 
attempts at proselytism. The Education Board provided that "one or two days in the week be 
set apart for giving, separately, such religious education to the children, as may be approved of 
by the clergy of their respective persuasions." This was in reality the only subject of complaint ; 
yet it was one that gave rise to bickerings, heart-burnings, and ill will; and kept the Protestants 
generally, and their clergy almost universally, aloof, until very lately, from this State project. 



THE NATIONAL SCHOOLS. 49 



schools " of the institution ; paid by the public, and therefore responsible 
to the public; their habits ascertained before they are employed, and their 
conduct continually watched during employment by proper "inspectors," 
duly appointed, who, in their turn, are frequently examined by the Board, 
and called upon to report regularly concerning all subjects connected with 
their respective districts. The school-houses, instead of being dark, close, 
dirty, and unwholesome, are neat and commodious buildings, well ventilated 
and in all respects healthful. The books that have displaced the mischievous 
and deleterious publications formerly in universal use, are excellent in every 
sense of the term. Lessons in virtue are conveyed in every page, with a 
degree of skill and judgment nowhere exceeded ; they have been compiled 
with admirable tact, so as to communicate information by the simplest 
process, and great pains have been taken to carry out the Horacian precept 
in placing in the hands of the children, books that appear intended only for 
amusement ; but which instruct at the same time, and insensibly store the 
mind with many important truths and moral precepts. So admirable are the 
works now published by the Board, that many wealthy and noble families use 
them in preference to all others in the education of their children ; and it is no 
uncommon thing to see the heir to thousands of broad acres, studying the same 
books which the poorest lad in the parish has received at the national school 
" hard by." Literature may well be termed a " common- wealth." 

We believe, then, that the system is working well — marvellously well, con- 
sidering the great and manifold difficulties by which it was formerly surrounded ; 
many of these difficulties have been surmounted ; others have been materially 
lessened; and those that remain may be obviated by the cordial cooperation of 
the clergy of the Established Church. Let us hope that this will be no longer 
withheld ; " so that " — we quote an eloquent passage from one of the many 
" Reports " submitted to Parliament — " they may assist in bringing up children 
of all denominations in feelings of charity and good- will, in making them regard 
each other not as belonging to rival sects, but as subjects of the same sovereign, 
as fellows of the same redemption, so that all may hold the faith in unity of 
spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life." 

It only remains for us to quote such information as we find in the 
18th Report of the "Commissioners of National Education" issued in 
1852. 



50 THE NATIONAL SCHOOLS. 



" On the 31st of December, 1850, we had 4,547 schools in operation, which were attended by 
511,239 children. At the close of the year 1851 the number of schools in operation was 4,704, 
and of pupils on the rolls 520,401, showing an increase in the schools in operation of 157, and an 
increase in the attendance for the year 1851, as compared with the year 1850, of 9,162 children. 
The total attendance in 1851 of 520,401 children in the 1,704 schools in operation gives an average 
on the rolls of 100^ to each school. Of the 252 schools taken into connexion during the year 
1851, the number in each province was : — Ulster, 82; Munster, 81; Leinster, 41 ; Connaught, 48 
— total, 252. The 252 schools specified are under the management of 204 separate persons, many 
of them having more than one school under their care. The religious denominations to which 
they belong are as follows: — Church of England — clerical, 11, lay, 19; Presbyterians — clerical, 
16, lay, 6; Dissenters — clerical, 0, lay, 2; Roman Catholic — clerical, 130, lay, 11. Total Pro- 
testants of all persuasions, clerical and lay, 54; total Roman Catholics, clerical and lay, 141. 
Total whose religious denominations have been ascertained, 195, not ascertained, 9 — total 
number of applicants, 204. According to returns prepared at our request by the managers of the 
National Schools, we have ascertained that of 5,822 male and female teachers, assistants, 
monitors, &c, in the service of our Board on the 31st of March, 1852, there were — members of 
the established Church, 360; Presbyterians, 760; other Protestant Dissenters, 49— total Pro- 
testants of all denominations, 1,169; Roman Catholics, 4,653. The number of schools in operation 
on the 1st of November, 1852, was 4,795. Of these 4,434 were under 1,853 separate managers, 
and 175 under joint management. There were 141 connected with workhouses or gaols, and 45 
of which the commissioners are the patrons, making in the whole 4,795 schools. Of 4.434 schools, 
1,247 were under the superintendence of 710 managers of the Protestant, and 3,187 under the 
1,143 managers of the Roman Catholic communion. The number of managers, members of the 
established church, was 296 — clerical, 67, lay, 229; of schools, 554. Presbyterians, 398 — clerical, 
247, lay, 151, schools, 670. Protestant Dissenters, 16— clerical, 4, lay, 12, schools, 23. Total- 
Protestant managers of all persuasions, 710 ; and of schools under them, 1,247. Roman Catholics, 
1,143— clerical, 957, lay, 186, schools, 3,187. Among the patrons of 175 schools under the joint 
management of persons of different religious persuasions, 56 were members of the established 
Church, of whom 14 were clergymen and 42 laymen; thus making a total of 81 clergymen and 
271 laymen, who were managers of National Schools on the 1st of November of the present 
year." 

The Commissioners thus conclude their Report : having first adduced proofs 
that the Protestant, as well as the Roman Catholic population participate in 
the benefits derivable from the grants : — 

" Twenty years have elapsed since the introduction of the system of national education into 
Ireland. After a careful review of its progress, and of the difficulties which it has had to 
encounter, we are convinced that it has taken a deep root in the affections of the people, and that 
no other plan for the instruction of the poor could have been devised, in the peculiar circum- 
stances of this country, which would have conferred such inestimable blessings on the great 
majority of the population. Every passing year strengthens our conviction that the intellectual 
and moral elevation of the humbler classes in Ireland will be effectually promoted by a firm 
adherence to the fundamental principles of the system, and by liberal grants from Parliament 
towards its support." 

While, therefore, on the one hand, it is to be hoped that the Protestant 
clergy will cooperate with " the Board," — on the other, it is of right demanded 
that the Board shall be neither seduced nor coerced into undue patronage of a 
religion, which is, at all events, not the religion of the State. 



THE LIBERTIES. 



51 




HERE is a district of Dublin that possesses many remark- 
able and peculiar features ; it is still called " the Liber, 
ties " — a spacious western tract in the most elevated and 
airy part of the city. It derives its name from certain privi- 
ly _^^^ leges and immunities enjoyed by the inhabitants, having 
manor courts of their own, with seneschals to preside in 
them ; but that of Thomas Court and Donore, is properly confined to 
the liberties, and is that from which it takes its name. This court is 
of very ancient foundation, being held under the charter of King John. 
It contains within its precincts forty streets and lanes, called the Earl 
of Meath's Liberties, and a population of about 40,000 souls. It has 
no criminal jurisdiction ; but its authority in civil matters, and the amount 
of sums to be recovered, is unlimited. In all cases under forty shillings the 
seneschal decides alone : when the sum is greater, he is assisted by a jury. 
He has a court-house to sit in, and a prison to confine debtors. 

The present state of this once flourishing region forms a strong contrast to its 
former ; but it still retains many evidences of what it has been. In passing 
along its desolate streets, large houses of costly structure everywhere present 
themselves. Lofty facades adorned with architraves, and mouldings to windows, 
and door-cases of sculptured stone or marble ; grand staircases with carved and 
gilded balustrades ; panelled doors opening into spacious suits of corniced and 
stuccoed apartments — all attest the opulence of its former inhabitants. They 
are now the abode only of the most miserable. As they were deserted by the 
rich, they were filled by the poor ; and as they decayed, they became the resort 
of the more abject, who could find no other shelter. So crowded were they at 
one time, that 108 persons were found in one house lying on the bare floor, and 
in one room seven out of twelve were labouring under typhus fever. 

It sometimes happens that a sudden stagnation of employment among the 
poor manufacturers still lingering there, causes a pressure of great temporary 
distress, and then they descend in masses to beg for relief in the lower and more 
prosperous parts of the city. They resemble an irruption of some strange and 
foreign horde. A certain wildness of aspect, with pallid faces and squalid 

e2 



52 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 



persons, at these times, mark the poor artisans of the liberties as a distinct and 
separate class from the other inhabitants of the metropolis.* 

In the Liberties, almost entirely reside the artisans who have made the Irish 
tabinets and poplins famous throughout the world, for their supremacy has sur- 
vived all attempts at rivalry ; and the beautiful fabrics are everywhere esteemed 
and admired. The manufacture, which is exclusively confined to Dublin, was 
introduced into Ireland by French refugees who settled there after the re- 
vocation of the Edict of Nantes. There are, as nearly as we could ascer- 
tain, between six hundred and seven hundred persons employed ; but the 
estimate includes weavers, warpers, winders, and dyers. They are principally 
heads of families, and earn from ten shillings to twenty-five shillings a-week (the 
higher wages being obtained by the weavers employed in producing brocaded or 
figured poplins, and who are, necessarily, the most skilful and ingenious work- 
men). There are not more than two hundred looms at work in the city and 
neighbourhood of Dublin : and, as we have intimated, there is not one in any 
other part of Ireland. The average produce of each loom is four yards per 
day (of the plain tabinet); but each loom employs three persons. The trade, 
and the profits derived from it, are consequently limited; yet it is. unfortu- 
nately, almost the only national manufacture, if we except that of linen. 

The woollen manufacture of Ireland was famous six centuries ago, and was an 
article of export to England in the fourteenth century ; the commodity gradually 
improved, and the trade proportion ably increased. Immediately after the cessa- 
tion of hostilities in the year 1688, the woollen manufacture was established to 
a considerable extent in the "Liberties." The security of property which 
occurred after the capitulation of Limerick, induced people to avail themselves of 
its local advantages, the cheapness of labour, and the abundance of the necessaries 
of life. The Earls of Meath, to whom the district belonged, as proprietors, were 
famous for a breed of sheep which in the reign of Charles I. was held in the 
highest estimation. A number of English manufacturers, therefore, emigrated 
hither with their properties and families, and settled in the district. They built 
the Combe, Pimlico, Spitalfields, and other streets named from correspondent 

* It is singular that the tide of wealthy population in Dublin has taken a contrary direction 
from that of London. They have deserted the high, airy, and salubrious site of the west end, 
which is now de>olate, and selected the flats and swamps of the east. Thus, by a strange 
perversion of taste, the elevated site and wholesome air are left to the poor, while the rich have 
emigrated into the unwholesome morass. 



IMS II MANUFACTURES. 53 



places in London, and a square called Weavers', from the new craft introduced. 
In a short time it became the residence of all that was opulent and respectable 
in the city. A patent was granted to act plays, and a theatre was built in Rains- 
ford Street. The Earl of Meath's mansion in Thomas Street was deemed by 
Sir W. Petty to be the most magnificent palace next to the Castle of Dublin, and 
the Duke of Leinster proposed to build the splendid family residence of Leinster 
House within its precincts. This sudden prosperity was of short duration. The 
jealousy of England was excited by the rapid progress of the manufacture, and 
a petition was presented to William III. by the Lords, to prohibit and suppress 
it. In this the subservient Irish Parliament concurred, and an exorbitant duty 
was laid on, amounting to a prohibition. The ruin of the trade immediately 
followed, and with it that of the district. The wealthy employers left the 
country, and all the population that remained were reduced to great distress. 
Towards the close of the last century, however, the woollen trade had a tem- 
porary revival ; in 1792, there were at work upwards of 400 looms, which 
employed 5,000 persons ; but it drooped rapidly, and now the manufacture is 
confined to a few hands. It is, we believe, more prosperous in some of the 
provinces than in Dublin ; in several towns of the South, there are manufactories 
in full and profitable work. 

The other manufactures that flourish in Dublin, unhappily, require but a very 
brief notice. In woollen cloths, the produce is of great excellence ; several iron 
works are prosperous — especially that of Mr. Turner ; the manufacture of glass 
is carried on to a considerable extent ; there is much trade in tanning ; in guns 
and rifles, the establishment of Messrs. Pigby has a European fame ; and so 
have the carriages of Messrs. Hutton ; the porter, if we may class it under this 
head, of Messrs. Guinness is preferred to that of any other brewery in all pans 
of the world. The amount of its consumption in London alone is immense.* 
In several minor articles also, the artisans of Dublin have manifested great skill 

* It is a singular fact that little more than thirty years ago, London supplied the whole of 
Ireland with porter; and it would scarcely be an exaggeration to say that Ireland is now returning 
the compliment. It was first produced in Ireland, we believe, by Messrs. Beamish and Crawford, 
of Cork ; and its manufacture was the result of accident. These gentlemen were agents for its 
sale in the south of Ireland; but on one occasion the prevalence of westerly winds kept them 
for so long a period without a supply, after their store was exhausted, that they resolved upon 
an effort to avoid a similar mischance in future, by endeavouring to produce it themselves. 
They tried the experiment; it was successful, and very little London porter was afterwards 
imported. 



54 CHARITIES IN DUBLIN. 



ma 
now i 

in 



—such as boots and shoes, cutlery, gloves, &c. The manufacture of articles 
de of bog-wood and arbutus lias been lately introduced into Dublin, and is 
w in a flourishing state. There are ten or twelve shops exclusively engaged 
their sale. But, until agitation be permitted to cease, and the natural energies 
and abilities of the people are directed into a proper channel, Irish manufactures 
will be but as a small grain of sand on the sea-shore in comparison with the 
vast resources and capabilities of the country. Ireland, we repeat, requires 
nothing but repose to nourish as a manufacturing country ; not merely with a 
view to furnish with necessaries its own population, but to become a huge store- 
house for the supply of every nation of the world. The manufactories which at 
the present moment produce articles of a superior order, subsist not by the 
home consumption of their productions, but by their export trade. 




'HARITIES in Dublin are, as we have observed, very 
numerous, and almost as varied as the ailments and 
wants of human-kind. It is to-day as it was many 
centuries ago, when old Stanihurst, writing of the city, 
says, "What should I here speake of their charitable 
almes, dailie and hourlie expended to the needie!" 
There are hospitals for the diseased and aged ; asylums 
for the blind, the insane, the destitute; societies to 
assist the "stranger," the industrious, and the "unfortunate;" fever hospitals, 
lying-in hospitals, dispensaries, schools for the instruction of the deaf and 
dumb, refuges for servants out of place, females "of good character" dis- 
charged from prison, penitents, schools for the almost gratuitous education of 
the daughters of the clergy, orphan associations— in short, benevolent and 
charitable institutions are almost as numerous as the streets ; and nearly the 
whole of them are supported entirely by voluntary contributions. We have 
frequently had occasion to observe that nothing renders a native of Ireland, 
of any grade, more wretched than having nothing to give. The people are 
essentially charitable ; one can hardly enter a house where the ladies, young 
and old, are not engaged in the promotion of some plan for the relief of their 
fellow-creatures. They bestow quantities of food and clothing, and are truly 
zealous of good works. The sums expended in private charity, considering 



SOCIETIES IN DUBLIN. 55 



the limited means of the expenders, is astonishing; they are ever anxious to 
relieve, even beyond their means, the wants of others. " Eair beggars" attack 
on all sides, to claim aid for some favoured charity or distressed family ; and 
no city in the world can better sustain or better manage charitable institu- 
tions than Dublin. 

Institutions for promoting science, literature, and the arts, are far more 
limited; first in rank and in utility is the "Dublin Society," occupying Kil- 
dare House, purchased in 1815 from the Duke of Leinster for 20,000/. — a 
noble mansion, " long celebrated as one of the most splendid private residences 
in Europe." The society originated in the meeting of a few eminent men, in 
1731; in 1749, it received a charter of incorporation as "The Dublin Society 
for promoting husbandry and other useful arts ; " and is maintained chiefly by 
annual parliamentary grants. That great benefit has been derived to Ireland 
from the exertions of this institution is undeniable. Its museum contains 
a rare and almost perfect collection of the natural productions of the country ; 
its schools have been rendered valuable auxiliaries for the spread of infor- 
mation ; and it has been eminently successful in carrying out the object 
for which it was established — in " promoting husbandry and the useful 
arts." The prizes given at the annual cattle show amount to 300/. The 
Government School of Design has lately been placed under the management 
of the society. Pupils both male and female, (on paying the moderate sum of 
one shilling a month,) are instructed in architectural, figure, flower, landscape 
and ornamental drawing, in etching, modelling, painting in every vehicle, 
perspective and geometry. The school has already exercised a most beneficial 
influence upon the designs for tabinets, Limerick laces, embroidered muslin, &c, 
and promises still more : and high praise is due to the intelligent and indus- 
trious head-master, Mr. MacManus. Next in importance is the Royal Irish 
Academy, incorporated in 1786, "to promote the study of science, polite lite- 
rature, and antiquities." The society possesses an extensive library, consisting 
chiefly of Transactions of foreign societies and of books relative to Irelaud — a 
subject to which, very properly, its attention is principally directed; premiums 
are given, occasionally, for successful essays, and the volumes of its " Trans- 
actions " contain avast mass of important and valuable information upon a variety 
of subjects — abstract science, polite literature, and the antiquities of the country. 
The most valuable part of the " Transactions" (of late years), however, are the 



56 CLUBS IN DUBLIN. 



papers on purely scientific subjects — viz., mathematical and physical ; these 
contain more that is "new," and hold a higher rank, than the publications 
of any similar body in Europe ; and next to these, valuable contributions upon 
national archaeological remains, and ancient Irish art, matters which have 
lately attracted much more than their wonted interest. A museum is attached 
to the institution, which contains a collection of rare and interesting Irish relics. 
The " Natural History Society," which consists chiefly of younger gentle- 
men labouring for the acquisition of knowledge, has already formed a museum 
of great value. "The Royal Hibernian Academy" was chartered in 1823, 
for the promotion of the fine arts. It consists of fourteen academicians and 
ten associates. The members possess a noble and spacious building in Abbey 
Street, erected for them by the late Francis Johnston, Esq., architect ; the 
munificent artist having given them a lease of it for ever, at the annual rent 
of five shillings. Its members receive an annual government grant of 300/., 
being, we believe, the only "Art-Society" in the kingdom so assisted. 

The Theatre in Hawkins Street was for a very long period under the able 
and efficient management of Mr. Calcraft. It is an elegant building, erected 
in 1820, by Samuel Beazley, Esq. ;* but, like almost all theatres, it is in its 
decadence. The various other institutions we must pass over briefly. 

The principal clubs are the Kildare-street and the Sackville-street Clubs, so 
called from the streets in which they are situated. The United Service Club 
(which is exclusively confined to the military) occupies the splendid mansion, 
in the north of Stephen s-green, formerly the town residence of Viscount Guil- 
lamore, better known as Chief Baron 0' Grady. There are two Royal Yacht 
Clubs at Kingstown, and one in Dublin, and several clubs of minor consequence, 
as well as an immense number of lodges and meetings of Eree and Accepted 
Masons, including a Grand Royal Arch Chapter, a Grand Encampment of 

* Anecdotes of the Dublin Theatres might form a curious and interesting history. The 
earliest was built in 1635, under the patronage of Lord Strafford, by John Ogilby, the translator 
of Homer, for whom Shirley wrote his play of " The Royal Master," originally performed in 
Dublin. The next was erected in Smock Alley, then Orange Street ; but it fell in during repre- 
sentation, and several persons were killed. It was subsequently repaired, and Farquhar (a 
native of Londonderry) made his first appearance there; so also did " Peg Woffinsrton." Early 
in the last century there were no fewer than five theatres in the city. The Crow Street Theatre 
was opened in the year 1758. "The Theatre" has always been a favourite place for giving exit 
to ebullitions of wit — and sometimes an arena for the exhibition of sharper weapons. At every 
performance indeed there is sure to be some characteristic display of Irish humour. 



STATUTE OF KILKENNY." 57 



the High Knights Templars, a Grand Council of Rites, an Illustrious College 
of Philosophical Masons, and a Most Illustrious Council of Grand Inspectors 
General, &c. Dublin also possesses six choral or madrigal societies, and 
upwards of forty charitable or religious hospitals, asylums, or places of refuge, 
the majority supported, wholly or chiefly, by private subscription. Most 
of these are under the superintendence of a committee of visitors, either male 
or female ; and the good feeling that prevails among them, and the disinterested 
zeal with which they discharge their duties, is, indeed, most commendable. 




ROM the public buildings of Dublin, we pass to the people ; 
and in treating this branch of our subject, we, necessarily, 
introduce some observations on the state of society in 
the Capital, which, here as elsewhere, may be presumed 
to give its tone to that of the Provinces. Throughout 
Ireland, unhappily, persons in the same grades of life, 
deriving equal advantages from education, station, and " fitness" in 
all respects, have been divided, too generally, by a bar — Religion — 
more insurmountable than that which in other countries separates 
the patrician from the plebeian. The laws of "the Pale" — " Come 
ye out from among them, and be ye separate " — were not more rigidly 
exclusive, in ancient times, against " the mere Irish," than were, in some 
districts, the habits and customs — and prejudices — which kept apart the 
Protestant and the Roman Catholic* But the famine that lately desolated the 

* It is unnecessary to go at any length into this theme, fertile of discord and misery. Suffice 
it that the " Statute of Kilkenny," enacted that marriage, nurture of infants, or gossipred with 
the Irish, or submission to Irish law, should be deemed high treason. Any man of English race 
taking an Irish name, using the Irish language, or adopting Irish customs, was to forfeit goods 
and chattels, unless he gave security that he would conform to English manners. Finally, it was 
declared highly penal to entertain an Irish bard, minstrel, or story-teller ; or even to admit an 
Irish horse to graze on the pasture of an Englishman ! This infamous statute, however, was 
rarely acted upon, except in the counties within the Pale. Some of the Anglo Norman " settlers," 
although formidable enemies to the men of Ireland, were not armour-proof against the 
attacks of its women. In 1335, there was a curious licence to Sir Almeric Grace, styled Baron of 
Grace, for the better preservation and improvement of the peace of the country, to form an Iris-h 
alliance with Tibina, daughter of O'Meagher, prince or dynast of Ikerrin, " all laws to the con- 
trary notwithstanding." By the " statute of Kilkenny," it was made high treason for any person 
of English origin to contract a marriage with an Irish family. The infraction of this stern law, 



58 



EAMINE IN IRELAND. 



country appears to have done "more than legislation to lessen " domestic fury 
and fierce civil strife." The extensive estates of embarrassed owners, generally 
absentees, have lately been torn from their grasp by the remorseless operations 
of the Encumbered Estates Court, and have been divided among a numerous 
class — emphatically the people, wide in the distinctions of their religious and 
political creed, and belonging to different grades in the social scale. Yet the 
evil still exists — largely and extensively. 

It is not always in Ireland as it is in England, .where in private life the 
religious creed of a person seldom, and the political opinions still more rarely, 
form subjects of inquiry; where men meet in "keen encounter" daily, in 
public, but exclude all consideration of them from the social circle ; and where, 
often, parties most hostile upon debateable ground are cordial even to friendship 
when meeting upon ground they consider neutral. 

But it is generally the attribute of severe affliction to soften down the 
asperities that have their existence more in an artificial state of social rela- 
tions, than in the genius or feelings of the people. If the Irish have been 
vicious, turbulent, or spendthrift, they have had to pay a heavy penalty for 
their faults. The famine suddenly involved them in difficulties against which 
they had never made any provision. Discord reigning where nothing but 
unanimity could have staved off impending ruin; proprietors with estates 
already heavily mortgaged, exposed to vicissitudes which large savings and an 
unencumbered property could alone have mastered; and tenants, long accus- 
tomed to place a blind reliance in interested and dishonest demagogues, called 
upon suddenly for the exercise of all the virtues of prudence and self-reliance ; 
— such was the situation of the people when the ghastly famine of 1846—8 
invaded their homes. Thousands of families, some in the enjoyment of 

unless dispensed with by the king's special permission, as in the case of Sir Almeric Grace, was 
punished with unrelenting severity ; and the crime for which Thomas Fitzgerald, eighth Earl of 
Desmond, was attainted and executed in 1417, was that of "having broken his allegiance by an 
Irish alliance and fosterage." Until towards the close of the last century, the penal enactments 
against the Roman Catholics were scarcely less unwise and unnatural : within the memories of 
living men, a Roman Catholic gentleman was denied a standing at the Bar, and rank in the army 
and navy ; was excluded from all participation in the government of cities and towns, obtained 
no admission to Parliament ; all the avenues to honourable distinction being closed against him : 
he was, in fact and in truth, an alien in his own land. H ow very different is the case now, when, 
not only in Ireland but in England, Irishmen and Roman Catholics are mayors, magistrates, 
members of parliament, lords of the treasury, ministers of state, judges, and governors of 
colonies ! 



HABITS OF THE IRISH. 59 



opulence, some of competence, were in a short time reduced to poverty and 
want; and all classes soon learned the severe lesson taught them by adversity — 
that union, self-reliance, and economy are necessary to the peace and pro- 
sperity of a country. The railways too have not only united distant localities, 
but they have liberalized the people, invading and scattering the narrow pre- 
judices of provincialism, infusing in every direction new blood and social 
health and vigour, encouraging commercial relations, opening new markets 
and sources of industry to remote districts, and inculcating the necessity 
of a strict observance of " law and order," better than a whole century of 
unintelligible legislation. 

The difference between the higher classes in Ireland and those of England 
is, of course, very slight, in all the essentials that are understood to constitute 
"good society." Of late years, indeed, the intercourse between the two 
countries, so frequent and so continued, has nearly removed a distinctive 
character from either. The peculiarities of the old Irish gentry are all but 
extinct ; the originals of the past century bear but a very remote resemblance 
to their successors;— the follies and vices — the drinking, duelling, and 
" roistering," in former times considered so essentially " Irish/ ' belong exclu- 
sively to the ancestors of the present race. Such anecdotes as that told, upon 
good authority, of the father of Toler— afterwards Lord Norbury — who 
provided for his son by giving him at his outset in the world " a hundred 
guineas and a pair of duelling-pistols," no more illustrate the Ireland of to- 
day than the Smithfield fires do the justice of England. The habits once 
fashionable are no longer tolerated • and the boasts and glories of a past age 
are scorned and execrated in this. It was, indeed, always acknowledged 
that although the "Irish gentleman" was, often, an object of suspicion, the 
"gentleman from Ireland" was ever an example of courtesy, good breeding 
honour, and intelligence. 

In higher society, therefore, little of distinctive character will be perceived, 
except in that ease and cheerfulness of manner which make a stranger feel 
instantly " at home," and the peculiar tone of the Irish voice. We do not 
mean that the better educated have what is understood by "the brogue;" 
but there is an intonation that belongs to Ireland which is never lost, and 
cannot be disguised. 

The society of the middle class, or rather of the grade above it — the 



60 THE WOMEN OF IRELAND. 

members of the learned professions, and persons on a par with them — is unques- 
tionably agreeable and invigorating in the provinces, and equally so, but more 
instructive and refined, in the capital and the larger towns. It is everywhere 
frank and cordial, tempered by playful good-humour and a keen relish for 
conversation ; and is always distinguished by the cheerfulness that borders upon 
mirth and the harmony produced by a universal aptness for enjoyment. 

The women of Ireland — from the highest to the lowest — represent the 
national character better than the other sex. In the men, very often, energy 
degenerates into fierceness, generosity into reckless extravagance, social habits 
into dissipation, courage into profitless daring, confiding faith into slavish 
dependence, honour into captiousness, and religion into bigotry; for in no 
country of the world is the path so narrow that marks the boundary between 
virtue and vice. But the Irish women have — taken in the mass — the lights 
without the shadows. Most faithful; most devoted; most pure; the best 
mothers; the best children; the best wives; — possessing, preeminently, the 
beauty and holiness of virtue, in the limited or the extensive meaning of the 
phrase. They have been rightly described as " holding an intermediate space 
between the Erench and the English ; " mingling the vivacity of the one with 
the stability of the other : with hearts more naturally toned than either : never 
sacrificing delicacy, but entirely free from embarrassing reserve ; their gaiety 
never inclining to levity, their frankness never approaching to freedom ; with 
reputations not the less securely protected because of the absence of sus- 
picion, and that the natural guardians of honour (" the wild sweet-briary fence") 
though present are unseen. Their information is without assumption ; their 
cultivation without parade ; their influence is never ostentatiously exhibited ; 
in no position of life do they assume an ungraceful or unbecoming independence ; 
the character is, indeed, essentially and emphatically, feminine; the Irish 
woman is "a very woman " with high intellect and sound heart. 

In writing of Irish women, we refer to no particular class or grade ; from 
the most elevated to the most humble, they possess innate purity of thought, 
word, and deed ; and are certainly unsurpassed, if they are equalled, for the 
qualities of heart, mind, and temper, which make the best companions, the 
safest counsellors, the truest friends, and afford the surest securities for sweet 
and upright discharge of duties in all the relations of life.* 
* It will be scarcely necessary to inform the reader that these remarks proceed from hut one 



STATE OF SOCIETY IN IRELAND. 61 

In Ireland, as yet, the aristocracy of wealth has made little way ; and to be 
of "good family" is a surer introduction to society, than to be of large fortune. 
The prejudice in favour of "birth" is, indeed, almost universal, and pervades 
all ranks. Consequently, classes are to the last degree exclusive ; and their 
divisions are as distinctly marked and recognised as are those determined by 
the etiquette of a court. The prejudice in favour of " birth" is not extended 
to rank. It is strictly confined to " the old stock." The poor are if possible 
greater admirers of members of an old family than the wealthy; and long after 
success in trade and accumulated gains has opened to the " new man " a place 
in the society of the great, the poor still persist in refusing him the rank 
accorded to him by the higher classes. It may safely be said that the lower 
orders of the Irish people (if we except the north of the island) are the 
most aristocratic and conservative people in the world. In the great majority 
of "agrarian outrages" the victims are either strangers, or persons who 
have been the architects of their own fortunes. We do not often hear of an 
outrage upon a member of an ancient family. Hence arises that perpetual 
straining after a higher station, to which many worthy families have been 
sacrificed: persons in business rarely persevere until they have amassed 
fortunes, but retire as early as possible after they have acquired competence ; 
and the subdivisions which their properties necessarily undergo, when junior 
branches are to be provided for, creates a numerous class — almost peculiar to 
Ireland — of young men possessing the means of barely living without labour, 
disdaining the notion of "turning to trade," — unable to acquire professions, 
and ill-suited to adorn them if obtained ; content to drag on existence in a state 
of miserable and degrading dependence, doing nothing — literally " too proud 
to work, but not ashamed to beg." 

So much appears necessary on the subject of Irish Society — in the classes, 
that is to say, which will be met in Dublin. Of the lower orders we have 
treated elsewhere: we have had frequent opportunities of bearing testimony 
to the many good and valuable qualities which distinguish the Irish peasant 
— justly and wisely managed ; and we are bound to enter our protest against 
any opinion of them, formed from the "bad specimens " which are occasionally 
encountered. In the words of the English poet, Churchill, — 

of the authors of this work; that they record the opinions, not of an Irishwoman, hut of an 
Englishman. 



62 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 



" Long from a country, ever hardly used, 
At random censured, wantonly abused, 
Have Britons drawn the shaft, with no kind view, 
And judged the many by the rascal few ! " 

The Irish have ever been famous for wit and humour ; in physical courage 
they have never been surpassed: but who shall speak of them without 
describing their enduring fortitude, their self-sacrificing generosity, their 
indomitable energy, which needs only a wise direction to be made of prodigious 
value? It has been easy for those who are unfriendly from prejudice, or 
ignorant from lack of opportunity, to describe the Irish as lazy, when they are 
hungry and ill-paid ; ignorant, where knowledge was made penal by legislation ; 
ungrateful, under the weight of favours grudgingly bestowed : unimproving 
tenants where they have no tenure in the land they till ; insubordinate or 
rebellious, while they saw no evidence that obedience is a payment for 
protection.. 

Happily, of late years, the policy of England towards Ireland has been 
altogether changed. The old and infamous system which legislated for Ireland 
as a conquered country has been abrogated: it is now as intolerable to 
Englishmen as it was to Irishmen. " Saxon hatred, jealousy, and oppression," 
are. terms that have no substance, and are used only for base and selfish 
purposes. With few exceptions — exceptions to be found in Ireland, and of the 
Irish, quite as numerously as in England, and of the English — there is an 
earnest and sincere desire to give to the sister country a full share of all the 
rights, privileges, and advantages, which the English people possess and enjoy. 

If, happily, things have changed, unhappily, the evils that did exist have 
been succeeded by evils scarcely less disastrous to Ireland : famine and disease 
have been followed by Emigration, so extensive as to be almost universal : 
ere long, there will be, in a sense very different from that formerly in use 
— "no Ireland for the Irish : " they will have carried their "four bones," their 
strength and energies, to lands more auspicious than their own ; and instead 
of the old complaint, that in Ireland there was " soil wanting toil, and toil 
wanting soil," there will be none to till the ground, and reap the harvest. 

We cannot pursue this theme : but every Tourist will marvel, not — as he has 
been led to believe — at the number of unemployed hands, but at the contrary ; 
and ponder over the melancholy fact, that Ireland has been for centuries 
described as over-populated with its millions of acres waste. 



DONNYBROOK FAIR- 



63 




I AVING examined the fair city, and its numerous objects 
of attraction, we may ask the Tourist to visit some of 
the more interesting Suburbs of Dublin. We shall 
first conduct him to one of which he has assuredly heard : 
although as a locality it is entirely denuded of the 
picturesque : its importance being derived exclusively 
from its association with story and with song. Par- 
famed " Donnybrook " is now but the shadow of its 
former self; we have, indeed, had 

" The luck to see Donnybrook Fair" 

before, fortunately for the inhabitants of Dublin, it had "fallen from its high 
estate."* Although the Irishman is no longer there "in his glory," tents are 
still annually " pitched " upon the sodden sward, where they have been erected 
for centuries ; itinerant " play-actors " continue to gather there once a-year ; 
beggars yet make it a place of rendezvous ; lads and lasses assemble even 
now to dance under roofs of canvass ; and the din of harsh music from the 
" shows," mingled with the almost equally discordant squeakings of a score or 
two of bagpipes, still keep alive the memory of 

" Donnvbrook capers, that bother'd the vapours, 
And drove away care," 



* " Donnybrook "—the little brook— is so called from a mountain stream, "the Dodder," which 
runs through the suburb. The fair lasted for eight whole days of the month of August. We 

borrow from an anonymous writer a few passages sufficiently expressive of its old character : 

"Here a troop of itinerant equestrians, exciting the astonishment of the country clown and the 
well-dressed cit : there a merry-go-round full of boys and girls, getting their pennyworth of fun ; 
yonder a tent crowded with lads and lasses, tripping it on ' the light fantastic toe ; ' or gazing in 
admiration on some heavy-legged bog-trotter, footing a hornpipe to the music of a pair of 
bagpipes, or the notes of a half-drunken scraper on three strings; while thickly studded round 
may be seen tents crowded with the drinking and the drunken— the painted ' Jezebel,' or the 
half-tipsy youngster lovingly caressing ' the girl of his heart,' whose flushed cheek and glancing 
eye too plainly indicate that she herself has already had a goodly portion of the intoxicating 
draught: while in the distance, in various directions, may be seen the waving of the shillelah, 
and heard the brawling of a party daring some other to the deadly strife. Amidst what is 
considered by some as mere merriment and mirth— we venture to say there is more misery and 
madness, devilment and debauchery, than could be found crowded into an equal space of ground 
in any other part of this our globe, or in any other part of Ireland during five times the same 
space which is spent at Donnybrook, in one given year; and be it remembered, the scenes here 
described are those which take place during the light of day— the orgies of the night, when every 
species of dissipation is practised without restraint, may be better imagined than described." 



64 



DONNYBROOK. FAIR. 



during the long celebrated and verse commemorated month of August* 
The accompanying print will convey a sufficiently accurate idea of the scene, 
either as it was — or is ; for the artist has judiciously abstained from picturing 




DONNYBROOK FAIR. 



the disgusting incidents by which "the fair" was rendered famous — and 
infamous ; although he has introduced the leading objects of its attraction. 

In the autumn of last year we were curious to ascertain the difference 
between the Donnybrook of yesterday and that of to-day ; and, prepared as 
we had been for the wonderful changes which a few eventful years have 
wrought in the habits of the people, it was with utter astonishment we noted 
the contrast between the reckless " devilry " of a former time, and the decent 
hilarity of the present. "We have given, in a note, some idea of the depravity 
to which it was for a long period the annual usher ; regularly filling the jails 

* A pretty accurate description of Donnybrook sports is conveyed by an old rhymester; — 
** Such crowding and jumbling, " And coaxing and snaring, 

And leaping and tumbling, And scrambling and winning, 

And kissing and stumbling, And fighting and flinging, 

And drinking and swearing, And fiddling and singing." 

And carving and tearing, 



THE BOTANIC GARDEN. 65 



with culprits, and the streets with degraded women. Every fair in Ireland 
was, indeed, bad enough ; but that of Dublin surpassed them all for dissipation 
and vice ; a large proportion of the lower classes, for many months after the 
saturnalia, had to endure the penalties of want or the punishment of crime. 
To the disgrace of the country these evils were tolerated for centuries ; at 
length they were to some extent checked by a more efficient police ; and the 
spread of temperance and education and the improvement in the manners and 
morals of the people, everywhere observable, have entirely removed them. 

The Botanic Garden is situated on the north side of Dublin, at Glasnevin, 
about two miles from the centre of the city. A more admirable site could not 
have been selected ; a clear stream — the little river Tolka — runs through a 
miniature valley, to which the ground gradually slopes ; the tall and finely 
grown trees are sheltered from the north and east winds by adjacent hills; and 
the neighbourhood has long been celebrated for its salubrity, and its mild 
temperature. The garden contains about twenty-eight acres, and is, we believe, 
the largest in the kingdom. It originated in the year 1790, when Dr. Wade 
presented a petition to the Irish Parliament, by the hands of Toler, afterwards 
Lord Norbury, the result of which was an annual grant for its establishment 
and support. It has ever since been an honour and a credit to the city; 
having been, at the outset, most judiciously and tastefully laid out ; and its 
several curators having been men of judgment and practical knowledge. A 
more delightful, interesting, or instructive promenade is not to be found in 
Europe*: on two days of each week it is opened to the public; but to 
the studious it is accessible at all times by an order easy to be obtained. Dr. 
Walsh thus wrote of the garden in 1818 : — " Nothing can exceed the command 

* Glasnevin is a village rich in historic and classic associations; the ground now converted 
into a botanic garden, was formerly the property of Tickell, the poet, from whose representatives 
it was purchased. One of the original walks — a straight avenue of yew trees — was planted 
under the direction of his friend Addison ; and tradition states, that underneath its branches he 
composed the exquisite ballad of "Colin and Lucy." At a short distance is Hampstead, once 
the residence of Sir Richard Steele ; and a little further was the glebe-house of Finglas, in which 
lived the poet Parnell. More immediately in the neighbourhood is Delville— a demesne laid 
out by Delany, the friend of Swift : and here, it is said, the witty Dean not only composed, but 
actually printed some of the most biting of his satires — which no printer of Dublin would have 
dared to put to press. The belief that they were produced in this calm retreat received, 
according to Dr. Walsh, confirmation strong about the beginning of the present century, when 
" in removing the lumber of an out -office, preparatory to its being pulled down, a printing-press 
was found concealed among it." 



G6 CEMETERY. 



of aspect which the irregular beauty of the surface presents, and of which the 
planners of the garden have been careful to avail themselves ; having ample 
room for every botanical purpose, they have not sacrificed taste to convenience, 
or disturbed such objects as contributed to the beauty of the old demesne." 
The garden has since undergone material improvements, while it has lost 
nothing of its former interest and value. The only other botanic garden in the 
immediate neighbourhood of Dublin, is " The College Botanical Garden," under 
the management of the Board of Trinity College. The garden is at the head 
of Upper Baggot Street. It is tastefully laid out, and contains some good 
conservatories, hot-houses, &c, enriched with many rare and valuable plants. 
These gardens are open to the public on producing a card, or order, which can 
be easily obtained from any dignitary of the College. 

Adjacent to Glasnevin is a public cemetery. There was no subject in 
Ireland which contributed more to keep alive the asperity of parties than that 
of burials. By an anomaly peculiar to the Irish character, the angry passions 
which agitate men in life were not relinquished in death ; every funeral was 
a signal to renew them, and the embers of discord were raked up and fomented 
even among the ashes of the dead. An obsolete fragment of the penal statutes 
continued unrepealed till a late date. It prohibited Roman Catholic priests 
from officiating in Protestant churchyards, even for a member of their own flock. 
To put an end to this state of things, Lord Plunket, then attorney-general, 
brought in a bill by which a Protestant incumbent might give permission to a 
Boman Catholic priest to perform the service on his "asking permission in 
writing." But this did not satisfy the angry parties. The one would not ask 
the boon in the prescribed form, and the other would not compromise their 
" privilege " if the minutest formula were omitted. The result was the 
formation of a cemetery on the south side of the city. The success of the 
attempt induced the promoters to establish another, on a larger scale, con- 
tiguous to the Botanic Gardens. Curran, the celebrated advocate, has a 
monument here ; and a tomb was here erected for "Rut liven, a " liberal " member 
for Dublin : but it was little more than commenced, and the fragments of it lie 
neglected and trampled upon. It is in this cemetery, also, that the mortal 
remains of O'Connell repose, without any monument to mark the last resting 
place of one now almost forgotten, but once the idol of his countrymen. 
A third cemetery has been established at Harold's Cross, exclusively Protestant. 



CROSS AT FINGLASS. 



67 



It is of equal size with the former, and laid out in plantations and gravel- 
walks with great taste and beauty. 

Not far from Glasnevin is the village of Finglas. Finglas was early dis- 
tinguished for its salubrity, and acquired the name of Fioun Glas, "the fair 
or pleasant green." It was the favoured residence of St. Patrick,* who pre- 
dicted that it would be the future capital of Ireland — that it should be "lifted 
up into the throne of the kingdom " — and, in the meantime, conferred on it 
various gifts ; among the rest a Well of many spiritual and physical virtues. 




CROSS AT FINGLASS. 



Among other remnants of antiquity is a ponderous stone cross; it was 
buried in order to conceal it from Cromwell's soldiers, and remained under 

* Among the successors of St. Patrick have heen many eminent saints. St. Canice, to whom 
the parish church is dedicated, and whose name is engraved on the ancient communion service 
plate, was followed hy others, whose bones repose under the chancel of the church ; and since the 
time of the Reformation the benefice has been filled by several distinguished men. The learned 
Archbishop Usher was incumbent of Finglas, and separated the vicarial from the rectorial tithes, 
because he thought he could not conscientiously receive the whole. Since then, the rectorial: 



68 THE LIFFEY. 



ground for nearly two centuries. The tradition of the circumstance induced the 
Rev. Dr. Walsh, then curate of the parish, to search for it. After long and 
fruitless inquiries, he met with an aged man, who told him that his grandfather 
had pointed out to his father the place where it had been buried. Taking the 
old man for his guide, and some labourers to assist him, he began to dig, found 
the cross, and placed it in its present position. 

Among the customs of the village is a May fair, formerly celebrated with 
great pomp. A queen was crowned, and a court appointed to support her 
dignity, dressed in gorgeous apparel, and great crowds were in attendance from 
the city for several days to do her homage. But the scene of dissipation and 
profligacy into which it degenerated caused it to be utterly discountenanced. 
The last unfortunate queen died, not long ago, and she has had no successor ; 
although the semblance of the fair is still kept up. 

The village was formerly the abode of opulence and fashion, and supported 
two sedan-chairs to convey the company to its evening parties. But the 
mansions of the fashionable are now deserted and in ruins. 

The immediate vicinity of Dublin, in all directions round the city, is of great 
interest and beauty. The banks of the Liffey, from the quays to a con- 
siderable distance beyond Leixlip, and into the county of Kildare, are highly 
picturesque ; the natural luxuriance of the soil has been improved by taste and 
cultivation ; and stately mansions and graceful cottages crown the heights of 
the green hills by which the river is everywhere bordered. The Phoenix Park 
will be taken in this route ; for the public road runs directly under it. In the 
park is the residence of the Yiceroy ; and here, of late years, the represen- 
tative of the sovereign, in Ireland, has constantly resided during the summer ; 
being more healthful, agreeable, and convenient, than " the Castle." " The 
Lodge," as it is called, has little pretensions to magnificence. The park 
contains about 1000 acres, admirably laid out ; the trees are finely grown ; it 
is " kept " with exceeding care ; and is deservedly classed foremost among the 

tithes form part of the corpus of the chancellor of St. Patrick's. Among the vicars of Finglas 
was the poet Parnell, whose autograph is still extant in the vestry books. During his in- 
cumbency a wing of the church was allocated for a public library for the benefit of the parishioners. 
He did not live, however, to enlighten them. There is an extraordinary inaccuracy in all his 
biographers with respect to the date of his death; Goldsmith, Johnson, Chalmers, 8rc, declare he 
died in July, 1717, yet his autograph is found in the vestry book on Monday in Easter week, 
April 14th, 1718. The Rev. Robert Walsh, LL.D., was among the latest of the remarkable 
men, vicars of Finglas. 



PHOENIX PARK. 69 



public promenades of the kingdom. Dr. Walsh, indeed, who had visited 
nearly every continental country, did not hesitate to say that "viewing all 
the particulars which should distinguish a place set apart for public recreation, 
the Phoenix Park, on the whole, would not suffer on comparison with any other 
in Europe." The demesne connected with the viceregal lodge, contains about 
200 acres of land, Not far from it, is the chief secretary's lodge — a handsome 
building with nearly 70 acres attached. Close to it also, is the Under-se- 
cretary's lodge. A portion of the park called "the fifteen acres," is quite 
flat and free from trees. This was in old times the favourite place where 
gentlemen used to obtain "satisfaction." Prequent reviews are held here, 
of both infantry and cavalry. Nearly at the entrance, from the city, is a 
huge heap of stones, dignified by the title of " The Wellington Testimo- 
nial," * and on the Kildare side is an erection equally unmeaning — a tall 
Corinthian column, surmounted by a Phoenix f . The Zoological Society 
have their gardens within the park, a portion of it having been allotted 
to them in 1830, by his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, then Lord 
Lieutenant. 

The western side of Dublin will, indeed, afford materials for an entire day's 

* The cost of this absurdity exceeded 20,000Z. ; the amount having been raised "by subscrip- 
tion." It is formed of mountain granite. On the summit of a flight of steps stands a square 
pedestal, on the four sides of which are panels, with figures in basso relievo, emblematic of the 
principal victories won by the noble Duke. From this rises the massive obelisk, truncated, of 
thick and heavy proportions. On the sides of the obelisk, from the top to the base, are inscribed 
the names of all the places in which victories were gained by the Duke, from his first career in 
India to the battle of Waterloo. Opposite to, and standing on the centre of the principal point 
is an insulated pedestal, on which "it is intended to place an equestrian statue of the hero." 
The dimensions of this structure may be estimated from the following measurements : — The 
lowest step, forming the base, 480 feet in circuit ; perpendicular section of steps, 20 feet ; sub- 
plinth of pedestal, on top of steps, 60 feet square, by 10 feet high ; pedestal, 56 feet square, by 
24 feet high ; obelisk, 23 feet square at base, and 150 high, diminishing in the proportion of 
one inch to the foot. Total height of the Testimonial, 205 feet. 

t The column was erected in 1745, by the then Lord Lieutenant, Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl 
of Chesterfield. It has contributed to the popular error, which derives the title of the Park from 
the bird of fable. Its origin, however, is far more natural. According to Dr. Walsh, "In the 
Irish vernacular Fionnuisge, pronounced Finnish, signifies clear or fair water, and, articulated in 
the brief English manner, exactly resembles the word Phoenix. At length the park became 
known, even at an early period, by no other appellative." The spring or well so called, still 
exists. It is situated in a glen, beside the lower lake, near the grand entrance to the Viceregal 
Lodge, and has been much frequented from time immemorial for the supposed salubrity of its 
waters. It is a strong chalybeate. It remained, however, in a rude and exposed state till the 
year 1800, when, in consequence of some supposed cures it had effected, it immediately acquired 
renewed celebrity, 



70 



MAYNOOTH. 



sight-seeing. Driving towards the park we pass along the banks of the Liffey 
opposite to the Royal Barracks, before which is a railed enclosure. The barracks 
stand upon a height, and form a handsome range of stone buildings without 
possessing any characteristic features. Should the Tourist desire it he .can 
visit the Hibernian Soldiers' School and the Royal Hospital of Kilmainham ; 
but if pressed for time it is better to drive at once straight through the Phoenix 
Park. The viceregal lodge may be seen from the park road, and we pass 
by the Zoological Gardens, which we leave at our right, the Wellington 
Testimonial being at our left, and the " Phoenix" before us. Issuing 
through the Knockmaroon gate, we find ourselves upon the Lucan road 
on the banks of the river. Following the road, which runs almost all along 
by its margin, we may visit Lucan, the Salmon-leap, and Leixlip, all famous 
for their historic associations. Leixlip is in. the county of Kildare. It is 
one of the most beautiful tc bits of scenery" in the kingdom, and within 
a distance of ten miles from the metropolis. The village is neat and pretty ; 
but the leading object of attraction is the Salmon-leap, about half a mile 
from the road. After passing along two or three green fields, through which 
a foot-way has been generously made, the roar of the waterfall greets the 
ear, and through some skilfully formed breaks among the foliage that skirts 
the river, occasional glimpses of it are caught. The cataract is of great 




MAYNOOTH. 71 



width, and very picturesque in character; the waters glide onwards in a 
smooth but rapid current, and dash down the rocky steep — a mass of spray 
and foam. The whole neighbourhood is beautiful; the river is lined with 
graceful trees, from its borders up the slopes of hills that ascend from either 
side. 

Not far from Leixlip, and beside the "Liffey's Banks," is the village of 
Celbridge — famed as the residence of Swift's " Yanessa." 

If the Tourist visits Leixlip, he will assuredly continue his walk, or drive, 
until he reaches Maynooth — but four miles distant from Leixlip. 

Maynooth consists of one long and broad street ; the dwellings, of a class 
between houses and cabins, at either side, having an air of exceeding discom- 
fort. At one end of the town is the entrance to Carton, the seat of " Ireland's 
only Duke ; " at the other, are the ruins of the ancient castle, and the " Royal 
College of St. Patrick." The college is a peculiarly ungainly and ungraceful 
structure ; it appears to have been originally a mansion of moderate size, to 
which additions have been made from time to time, and where elegance and 
uniformity have been sacrificed to convenience. 

The College was founded in the year 1795. Previously, youths intended 
for the Roman Catholic Church were compelled to enter foreign universities, 
and to graduate there — having received the rudiments of learning, how and 
where they could, in their own country* Towards the close of the eighteenth 
century, however, the war with the Continent in which Great Britain was 
engaged, rendered the transmission of students dangerous as well as difficult ; 
and, the more liberal spirit of the age favouring the project, application was 
made to the Irish Parliament, by several leading members of the Roman 
Catholic Church, for leave to establish a college, under charter, for their 
education at home. Permission was granted, and, with it, a vote of money to 
aid in providing suitable premises ; the act for its incorporation receiving the 
royal assent on the 5th of June, 1795. The site was not fortunately chosen ; 

* A short time prior to the French revolution (according to the Rev. Dr. Walsh, ' History of 
Dublin '), the number of Irish Roman Catholics, masters and students, in the several Continental 
colleges, were, of the former twenty-seven, and of the latter four hundred and seventy-eight. In 
France, there were — in Paris (" College des Lombards," and " Communaute, rue Cheval Vert,") 
one- hundred and eighty scholars; at Nantes eighty; at Bordeaux forty; at Douay thirty ; at 
Toulouse ten ; and at Lille eight. At Louvain there were forty ; at Antwerp thirty ; at Salamanca 
thirty-two; at Lisbon twelve; and at Rome sixteen. 



72 MAYNOOTH. 



it was selected chiefly in consequence of the offer of the then Duke of Leinster, 
to grant, upon a lease of lives renenewable for ever, fifty-four acres of land at 
the annual rent of seventy-two pounds. The neighbourhood is by no means 
healthy ; and the distance from any city or town, by effectually preventing the 
occasional mingling of the students with society, is an evil against which no 
advantage could have been a sufficient set-off. 

In the October following, the College was opened for the reception of fifty 
students. Since then, candidates for orders in the Roman Catholic Church 
have been educated chiefly at Maynooth ; there are other colleges from 
which they have also been ordained-^— at Kilkenny, Carlow, Tuam, Wexford 
and Waterford ; but many youths, the sons of persons of, comparatively, 
higher stations, continue to graduate at Continental universities. 

The number of students at Maynooth upon the 2d of December, 1851, was 
516 in attendance, and 7 absent; 2 on leave, and 5 on account of ill health. 
The annual cost of lodgings, instruction, commons, &c. for 500 students, is 
borne by the annual parliamentary grant, as well as the expense of " allowances" 
to 20 Dunboyne scholars, and 250 members of the senior classes. The Dun- 
boyne scholars are mainly supported by the annual profits of estates left by 
one of the Lords Dunboyne, which produce an annual rental of about 500/. 
Notwithstanding that the population of Ireland has fallen from eight millions 
to six millions, no reduction has been made in the number of students at 
Maynooth, although the number of Eoman Catholic priests in Ireland is so 
superabundant, that considerable numbers of them emigrate every year. 
The free presentations are made by the four ecclesiastical provinces — by Ar- 
magh and Cashel, each seventy-five, and by Dublin and Tuam, each fifty. 
They are admissible at the age of seventeen ; and are selected after examination 
by the bishops of the respective dioceses. Besides the free students, there are 
pensioners and half -pensioners — the former paying twenty-one pounds and the 
latter ten pounds ten shillings annually. Each free student pays an entrance 
fee of eight guineas, and each pensioner an entrance fee of four guineas. The 
sums thus raised are insufficient for the maintenance of the establishment. 
Its principal means of support are derived from amiual parliamentary grants. 
During the first twenty-one years of its existence they averaged £8,000 
annually ; the sum was subsequently raised to £8,928 — the present amount of 
the grant. The college is placed under the direction of a board of trustees, 



CLONDALKIN. 73 



consisting of seventeen Roman Catholics, of whom the four archbishops are 
members ex officio ; of the thirteen, seven are of the church and six are laymen. 
They are directed to hold visitations triennially, or whenever the lord-lieu- 
tenant shall direct them so to do ; and are empowered to examine, upon oath, 
"touching the management, government, and discipline;" all matters con- 
nected with doctrine being subjected to the decision of the Roman Catholic 
members only. The officers charged with the superintendence of the insti- 
tution, are the president, the vice-president, and the senior and junior deans. 
They must be natives of Great Britain and Ireland. The professors rank in 
the following order: — 1. Dogmatic Theology; 2. Moral Theology; 3. Hebrew 
and Sacred Scripture (divinity professors) ; 4. Natural Philosophy and Mathe- 
matics ; 5. Logic, Ethics, and Metaphysics; 6. Greek and Latin ; 7. French 
and English ; 8. Irish. 

This is not the place in which to canvass the very difficult and intricate 
matters connected with the establishment at Maynooth, or the grant by which 
the College is in a great degree supported. 

The ostensible object of its foundation, on the part of those who acquired 
and those who accorded the "privilege" — for as such it was received and 
acknowledged — was to avert, by home-education, the evils likely to arise to 
the kingdom from committing the charge of instructing teachers of a large 
portion of British subjects to foreign enemies of the state. It is notorious 
that this object has not been answered ; that, on the contrary, the old priests, 
who were educated abroad, are infinitely less hostile to England than those 
who have received their education at Maynooth. "We are, however, bound to 
omit all discussion upon this topic — referring our readers to the many books 
that exist on the subject. 

South-west of the city, about four miles, is the village of Clondalkin, with 
its round tower, in a perfect state of preservation. Its height is about ninety 
feet, and it measures fifteen feet in diameter ; its base was, however, about 
sixty years ago, encased with strong mason- work, in order to protect it from 
the assaults of time; and, strangely enough, a few years after it was judi- 
ciously guarded, a catastrophe occurred that would otherwise have levelled it 
with the earth. Extensive powder-mills in the neighbourhood blew up ; yet 
the tower withstood the shock, although (to quote the newspapers of the day), 
"the earth seemed to shake from the very centre, and ponderous masses of 



74 KILLINEY HILL. 



many tons in weight were cast to the distance of five or six fields." Imme- 
diately adjoining the round tower are, as usual, the ruins of an ancient church; 
and it is certain that an abbey was founded here at a very early period. 



ROUND TOWER AT CLONDALKIN. 



It is impossible, within the compass to which we are restricted, to accord 
anything like justice to the scenery around Dublin. We have, however, given 
the Tourist a glimpse of the charms which may be found on the banks of the 
fair Lieeey ; we have afforded him some idea of the attractions of its harbour, 
and we are about to accompany him into the County of Wicklow. Upon no 
account, however, must he omit a visit to Killiney Hill, for the prospect 
thence is, perhaps, as magnificent as any he can obtain in Ireland. 

As we have stated, the Dublin and Kingstown Railway is merely a 
suburban railway. A great portion of Kingstown, which a few years ago was 
quite " the country," is now almost a city ; but all round it the landscape is 
studded with villas, some of them most picturesquely situated. As soon as 
each train arrives at Kingstown, carriages start upon the atmospheric railway 
for Dalkey, and for the sum of twopence we find ourselves among the mountains 
at a distance of nine to ten miles from the metropolis, and in the midst of 
scenery as wild and grand as if we were plunged all at once into the wastes 
of Connamara. This railway carries us up a steep inclined plane, rising one 
foot in fifty-seven. The summit of Killiney Hill is reached in a few minutes, 
and immediately a splendid prospect opens itself. Beneath us is the village of 



CX0NTARP. 75 



Dalkey. with its nunnery lying under us, and its secret walks open to vulgar 
gaze. Beyond it is Kingstown, with its harbour crowded with shipping. 
Almost at our feet is the sea, studded with bright islands. If we stand 
facing Dalkey Island, Dublin Bay will be at our left, with a distant view 
of the metropolis wrapped in haze; a little nearer to us we shall see the 
Pigeon House fort, from which extends into the sea the North Wall, with the 
lighthouse at its extremity. If we look a little further out to sea, and in 
nearly the same direction, we shall see the verdant Hill of Howth, surrounded 
by beetling rocks that rise majestically from the ocean. KillineyBay, with its 
soft sandy beach, lies a little to the right, and at the opposite extremity of the 
bay is the picturesque town of Bray, and the bold promontory of Bray Head 
towering over the waves. Behind us lie fertile and richly wooded valleys, 
studded over with elegant villas, and behind them the horizon is bounded by 
the " Scalp" and rugged mountains of Wicklow, that lose themselves in the 
misty clouds. 

There are also railways to Drogheda and Howth. The Drogheda railway has a 
station at Clontarf, which is only at a short distance from the city, and may con- 
sequently be better visited on foot or on a car. There is, however, little to be 
seen at Clontarf except the Castle, a small but beautiful edifice, once the strong- 
hold of the Knights Templars. These localities, en route to Drogheda, have 
been described in our visit to the North. 



NE other topic of interest we must notice before 
we leave Dublin. The references we have made 
to the social state of Ireland at the time the 
staple food of the country vanished, as it were, in 
a single hour, will doubtless have prepared the 
reader for an extraordinary decrease in the popu- 
lation, by death from starvation, disease, and 
emigration. But we scarcely think anything short 
of the actual fact could have made us believe that such an event could 
have produced the startling effects it has. In the year 1841 the popula- 
tion of Ireland was 8,175,124. In the year 1851 (the next census), had it 




76 



DE CUBASE OE POPULATION. 



continued to increase at the same rate, it would have amounted to about nine 
millions of souls. JBut the potato perished ; the famine scourged the land ; and 
the census revealed the awful fact that Ireland had virtually decreased two 
millions and a half, or one-third! The population in 1851 only amounted to 
6,515,794, instead of nine millions ! Since the famine, upwards of 270,000 
dwellings, too, have been swept away, and mouldering walls alone now record 
the places where the cheerful fire not long since blazed — spots consecrated 
to all the social virtues of home and happiness, and early associations and 
affections, but now desolated and deserted. The famine, however, was 
principally confined to the south and west of Ireland. It fell upon the 
north with a mitigated severity ; and, indeed, though the population of the 
north has decreased a little, yet its comparative increase has been very great. 
In 1841 the inhabitants of Ulster formed only a fourth, now they form a third 
of that of the entire island. It would not be a useless speculation, but, on 
the contrary, the solution of a most interesting question of social philosophy, 
to endeavour to ascertain why this great distinction exists between the north 
and south of Ireland. Different writers have attributed it to different causes, 
and, among the most prominent, to the difference of religion and to the admix- 
ture of Scotch and English blood. It would be foreign from this work to 
pause for the purpose of analyzing the arguments of different writers upon 
this subject, often advanced with more acrimony than fairness, and more zeal 
than discretion. But one thing must strike all — the difference of education 
in these localities. This will be perceived, not less from conversation with 
the people themselves than by reference to authentic statistical returns. 
For instance, glance at the subjoined table, showing the attendance at Sunday 
schools for the year ending the 1st of January, 1851 : — 



Province. 


Population 
in 1851. 


No. of 
Schools. 


No. of 
Scholars. 


No. of 
gratuitous 
Teachers. 


Ulster 


2,004,2S9 
1,667,771 
1,831,817 
1,011,917 


1,931 
457 
400 
216 


164,fi35 
32,314 
17,160 
12,403 


14,051 

3,006 

1,774 

822 










Total 


6,515,794 


3,004 


226,512 


19.753 





STATE OF EDUCATION. 



77 



Again, on referring to the census of 1841, we find that the percentage of the 
population in each province who could neither read nor write, were, — Ulster, 
33 per cent. ; Leinster, 38 ; Munster, 52 ; Connaught, 64. Thus we see that 
there were then of persons wholly ignorant, fewer in Ulster by one-third than 
in Munster, and by one-half than in Connaught. If we test these facts by a 
reference to the returns of the Commissioners of Education, we find them 
further corroborated : — the number of national schools in Ulster exceeds by 250 
the aggregate number of national schools in the two provinces of Munster and 
Connaught. If space permitted, we should have no difficulty in generalising 
upon this important subject ; and in showing that education supplies at once a 
discipline and intellectual force to individuals, that gives them a vast superiority 
in the busy race of life over their less educated neighbours. There is an 
elasticity of mind in the educated man that enables him to rise superior to the 
transitory reverses of fortune. "We could also prove with ease that crime 
increases exactly in the same ratio as education is neglected ; and that in fact 
education, as the world is now constituted, can alone lead to advancement, and 
secure virtue, prosperity, and contentment. We can only subjoin a most inte- 
resting table, compiled by the metropolitan constabulary, from which it will 
appear incontrovertibly, that out of 6,524 convicted in the course of seven 
years, only fourteen were possessed of superior education. What then can 
benefit Ireland ? We answer, without hesitation, — Educate — educate ! 



A comparative Table showing the education of persons committed for trial 
the Metropolitan district, convicted from the years 1844 to 1850 inclusive 



Year. 


Neither read 
nor write. 


Ditto 
imperfectly. 


Ditto well. 


Superior 
education. 


Total. 


1844 
1845 
J 846 
1847 
184S 
1849 
1850 


457 
399 

569 
682 
579 
507 
403 


340 
311 
423 
505 
44 8 
399 
328 


25 
18 
24 
22 
35 
17 
19 


1 
1 
5 
2 
5 


823 

729 

1,021 

1,211 

1,067 
923 
750 




78 INCUMBERED ESTATES ACT. 



EFORE we accompany the Tourist out of Dublin 
City, there is yet another topic upon which he will 
require information ; we allude to the " Act fob. the 
sale of Incumbered Estates in Ireland." To 
form a proper estimate of the extraordinary effect of 
this act, we must look back for the prime causes of 
Ireland's miseries, to circumstances the evil of which 
" lives after them." The government of Ireland was 
always corrupt ; sinecures and places almost without number were in the gift of 
the ministers, and were lavishly bestowed as the price of Parliamentary support. 
The franchise was enjoyed by every tenant-at-will who could swear that he had 
an interest in his land worth forty shillings a-year ; and a mud-hut, with a small 
patch of potato garden, was sufficient for this. A seat in Parliament enabled 
a man to provide for himself and all his family with ease ; and was, in fact, 
of far greater pecuniary value than a large estate : whilst the tenant's vote 
became, for the same reason, of far more consequence to his landlord than the 
rent which he promised to pay, but seldom paid. Everyone sub-divided his 
land to the last degree ; and the Roman Catholic priest, then labouring, with 
his flock, under political disabilities, remembered, that " captive Israel multi- 
plied in chains," and assisted too in encouraging an increase, in which he felt, 
sooner or later, he should find a new element of strength. In process of time, 
the people increased in some extensive districts far beyond the capabilities 
of the soil to support them. Some systematically spent several months of 
every year in the " mystery or trade " of begging ; and others sought, annually, 
harvest work in England. 

Whilst such was the social state of the country, three great changes were 
effected : Parliamentary Reform, Roman Catholic Emancipation, and the abo- 
lition of the forty shilling freeholders. A seat in Parliament lost its money value, 
and left the possessor of broad acres hopelessly embarrassed. At the same time, 
the great mass of the tenantry lost their votes, and merged into useless pau- 
pers ; and the Roman Catholics, too much elated by success, made an injudicious 
use of their victory, and, instead of promoting peace and goodwill, stirred up 
a rivalry which would otherwise have slept. The landlord then found himself 



INCUMBERED ESTATES ACT. 79 

hopelessly embarrassed ; his estate crowded with paupers ; and every effort on 
his part to better their condition, misconstrued and thwarted, for political 
objects. Thus he struggled on, standing as near the brink of insolvency as his 
tenants were to starvation. Then followed the "Potato Failure," and the 
famine. The people were thrown upon the poor-rates, which rose in many dis- 
tricts to more than cent, per cent. This of course (if it had been paid) would 
have left nothing for the mortgagee or landlord. The arrear of poor-rates kept 
accumulating, and the land was abandoned by every solvent tenant, and remained 
waste. The landlord was reduced almost to destitution ; and the mortgagee, 
receiving no interest, sought a " Receiver " and put the estate into Chancery ! 

Meanwhile, the state of the tenantry may be easily conceived. To say they 
were harassed with litigation, persecuted and tormented, without a protector 
or friend, would not be to paint their condition too darkly. Under these 
circumstances the Incumbered Estates Act was enacted. It differed from the 
procedure under the Court of Chancery in two particulars: 1st, On proof of 
incumbrances exceeding half the value of the estate, it was at once sold, and 
all questions as to the priorities of different creditors, &c. transferred from 
the land to the funds realized by their sale ; 2d, The lands sold passed at once 
to the purchaser with a parliamentary title. 

The sweeping nature of the measure may be judged from the fact that 
already nearly 800 estates have been sold under its provisions; and that 
petitions have been presented for the sale (including those sold) of upwards of 
2,150 estates, producing a rental, in round numbers, of one million and a half 
per annum! and extending, we believe, to nearly a seventh of the whole soil of 
Ireland. In a word, the whole system of landlord and tenant is changed. 
Great estates have been rudely torn asunder, and distributed among all who 
had the will and the wherewithal to purchase. Land is no longer a monopoly. 
Much has been purchased by English capitalists ; and more taken on lease 
Titles to land are now clear, and every one can obtain a long lease who has 
the necessary capital and character. 

Dublin City is divided, for purposes connected with the poor-laws, into two 
unions — the North and South Dublin Unions. These comprise all the city and 
liberties, and part of the suburbs, of Dublin. There is no special poor-law 
relating to the metropolis, but the same rules prevail that exist in the rural 
districts. 



DIVISIONS OF THE COUNTY. 



wfMh \ V UBLIN County, which we are about to leave, on our visit 

^W?" Jffllf^ «ra? to ^ ie ^ omit J °^ Wicklow, is bounded on the north and 
^jltejiil ■';'■:. iw9 north-west by the County of Meath; on the west and 
w^UHHpi^V south-west by that of Kildare; on the south by that of 
Jjg|j ^[WXf Wicklow; and on the east by the Irish Sea. It com- 
~jjH? prises, according to the Ordnance Survey, 240,204 statute acres ; of 
tKfijgv which 229,292 are cultivated, the proportion of unprofitable mountain 
jIL and bog being consequently very small. 

ikK It is divided'into seven baronies — Balrothery, Castleknock, Coolock, 
|P< Nethercross, Newcastle, Half-Rathdown, and Upper Cross. In 1821 
the population, exclusive of that contained in the metropolis, was 
150,011 ; and in 1831, it had increased to 183,042. In 1841, it amounted to 
140,047, of which 113,778 was in the rural, and 26,269 in the civic district, 
exclusive of the city itself. In 1851, the population of thesame district 
146,631, showing an increase of 6,584. 

The term " Barony " — a term unknown in England — seems to require some 
explanation, for the tourist will hear it often during his visit to Ireland. 
Ireland is divided into four provinces. 

In Ireland the counties are subdivided into Baronies, a division which, it 
would appear was introduced by the English, a barony, in its original meaning, 
being the honour and dignity which gives title to a baron, which anciently con- 
sisted of 13 knights' fees and a quarter, or 400 merks per annum. — (Jacob's 
Diet., by Billhead and Morgan, tit. Barony.) But as the division into counties 
has long since ceased to have any connexion with the titles of counts or earls, so 
that into baronies has no longer any reference to the dignity which it originally 
supported. The division into baronies and half-baronies is at present of great 
practical utility for various purposes, as in regulating the number of constabulary 
under Stat. 6 Wm. IV. c. 13; the levying and application of presentments 
under the grand jury act, 6 and 7 Wm. IV. c. 136; for some purposes 
connected with elections, Stat. 2 and 3 Wm. IV. c. 88, &c. &c. It may be 
mentioned in reference to the term barony, that although manor-courts still 
exist in Ireland, and take cognisance of debts within their respective districts, 
courts baron, at least in the sense in which they are used in England, in con- 
nexion with the tenure of copyhold estates, have not been in use in Ireland. 



MODES OF CONVEYANCE. 81 






IS we are about to leave the County of Dublin to visit 
that of Wicklow, and as the Tourist will now be 
called upon to consider the mode of conveyance he 
will select, we may here take the opportunity to intro- 
duce him to the carriages from which he will have to 
make his choice. Indeed, immediately on landing at 
Kingstown, there will be at least a dozen " car-boys " 
in attendance at the. quay, endeavouring to persuade 
him how much more easily, pleasantly, and rapidly he may journey to the 
city by car than by rail ; * the car, meaning the Irish carriage. 

The railways are all good — all well attended— admirably constructed — suffi- 
ciently fast— (the speed being generally thirty miles an hour) — the servants 
and porters invariably civil and obliging ; while the terminus stations are 
"grand" buildings; and the several stations on the lines graceful and con- 
venient structures. The railroads and railway carriages are indeed equal, 
whilst the second class carriages are decidedly superior, to those of England ; 
concerning them, therefore, little need be said. But machines for travelling 
in Ireland are, some of them at least, peculiar to the country. Stage-coaches 
are now, as they are in England, rare ; even in districts where there are no 
railroads, they have been in a great degree displaced by the public cars of 
Mr. Bianconi.f These " Bianconi Cars " in form resemble the common out- 
side jaunting-car, but are calculated to hold twelve, fourteen, or sixteen 
persons ; they are well horsed, have cautious and experienced drivers, are 
generally driven with three horses, and usually travel at the rate of eight 
English miles an hour; the fares averaging about one penny-farthing per 
mile. They are open cars ; but a huge apron of leather affords considerable 
protection against rain ; and they may be described as, in all respects, very 

* During one of our latest excursions, a " boy " addressed us with this persuasive speech — 
" Arrah ! yer honor, sure ye'd rather run up in my nate little car, than be dragged to Dublin at 
the tail of a tay-kettle ! " 

+ Mr. Bianconi, a native of Milan ran his first car— from Clonmel to Cahir— on the 5th of July, 
1815. The experiment was at the commencement very discouraging: he was frequently for 
whole weeks without a passenger. But his energy and perseverance ultimately triumphed, and 
he has succeeded in obtaining a large fortune, while conferring incalculable benefit on the com- 
munity ; having preserved an irreproachable character, and gained the respect of all classes. 

G 



82 



BIANCONI S CAR. 



comfortable and convenient vehicles. It would be difficult for a stranger to 
conceive the immense influence which this establishment has had upon the 
character and condition of the country ; its introduction, indeed, has been only 




IIAKCOK1 S CAR. 



second to that of steam in promoting the improvement of Ireland, by facili- 
tating intercourse between remote districts enabling the farmer to transact 
his own business at small expense and with little sacrifice of time * 

Post-chaises are now but seldom used. They are to be had in all the larger 
towns ; but, although very different from what they were when the caricature 
pictured one of them thatched with straw, from the bottom of which the tra- 
veller's legs protruded, they are still poor enough. The picture referred to 
was scarcely an exaggeration. An elderly gentleman informed us that he once 

* It would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of opening roads through the less 
frequented districts of Ireland. The necessity which formerly existed for keeping a large armed 
force there has had, at least, this one good effect: "military roads" are to be found in all 
quarters. One of the wildest mountain-tracts of the county of Cork was, a few years ago, in 
such a state of insubordination as to be dangerous for travellers at all seasons, and a source of 
considerable annoyance to the government. The question was asked "What was to be done?" 
A shrewd adviser answered, " Make a road through it." The advice was taken, and the Bograh 
mountains are now peaceable and prosperous. 



THE CARS. 



83 



made a journey in one of them. It came on to rain ; the driver drew up sud- 
denly and addressed his fare — "Ah then, sir, hadn't ye better get out and 
stand behind the carriage; it'll be only a shower." They are generally by 
no means vehicles that can be recommended. 



; the covered car," "the inside jaunting-car," 
the latter being the one most generally in 




The cars are of three kinds 
and "the outside jaunting-car: 
use, and the only one em- 
ployed in posting. The 
two former, indeed, can 
seldom be procured ex- 
cept in large towns. The 
covered car is a compara- 
tively recent introduction, 
its sole recommendation 
being that it is weather- 
proof, for it effectually 
prevents a view of the 
country except through 
the two little peephole ^z 
windows in front, or by 
tying back the oil-skin 
curtains behind. Yet our longer journeys in Ireland have been made in this 
machine : it preserved us from many a wetting, and we endeavoured to remedy 
the evil of confinement by stopping at every promising spot, and either getting 
out or making the driver turn his vehicle round, so that, from the back, we 
might command the prospect we desired. This class of cars has of late multi- 
plied greatly in all large towns ; they are, in Ireland, what the hackney-coaches 
and cabriolets are in England. 

The inside jaunting-car is not often to be hired ; it is usually private 
property, and is, perhaps, the most comfortable, as well as elegant, of the 
vehicles of the country. 

The outside jaunting-car is that to which especial reference is made when 
speaking of the " Irish " car. It is exceedingly light, presses very little upon 
the horse, and is safe as well as convenient ; so easy is it to get on and off, 
that both are frequently done while the machine is in motion. The hack-car 

g2 



COVERED JAUNTING-CAR. 



84 



THE CAKS. 




INSIDE JAUNTING-CAR. 



is driven with a single horse. The driver occupies a small seat in front, 
and the travellers sit back to back,* the space between them being occupied 

by " the well " — a sort of 
boot for luggage ; but when 
there is only one passenger, 
the driver usually places 
himself on the opposite seat 
" to balance the car," the 
motion of which would be 
awkward if one side was 
much heavier than the other. 
The foot "board" is gene- 
rally of iron, and is made to 
move on hinges, so that it 
may be turned up to protect 
the cushions during rain. This foot-board projects considerably beyond the 
wheels, and would seem to be dangerous ; but in cases of collision with other 

vehicles, a matter of no very rare 
occurrence, the feet are raised, and 
injury is sustained only by the 
machine. The private cars of this 
description are, of course, neatly 
and carefully made, and have a 
character of much elegance ; but 
those which are hired are, in ge- 
neral, badly built, dirty, and un- 
comfortable. This is the ordinary 
~=r± jaunting-car of Ireland ;f but the 
reader will be grievously taken in 
if he expect so neat and comfort- 




- — ■*=^~~''«">,_ „j.. 



OUTSIDE JAUNTING-CAR. 



* This arrangement has been characterised as unsocial ; but conversation is easily carried 01; 
by leaning across "the well." Its disadvantage is that the eye can take in but the half of a 
landscape: a caustic friend likened it to the Irish character, which limits the vision to a one- 
sided view of everything. 

t In nearly all parts of the country (except in Connaught) the miles are now English miles : 
the " Irish mile " was longer than the English : eleven Irish miles being equal to fourteen English 



THE CARS. 



85 



able a machine as that which the artist has pictured : the common cars are for 
the most part miserable vehicles, but little improved within the last twenty 
years, seldom cleaned, always rusty, and generally damp. Moreover, the horses 
are too frequently " poor beasts." 

In country towns there are no public stands for cars of any kind : they can 
be hired at the principal Inn, or, as it is generally called, the " first Hotel." 
Sometimes individuals manage to " start a car," or " set up a jingle," and in 
such cases drive it themselves; those persons are usually well-informed in 
legends and localities, and always well pleased to obtain a listener. 

The car, or rather cart, used by the peasantry, requires some notice. Plat 
boards are placed across it, and upon these straw is laid, and often a feather- 




OLD CAR OP THE PEASANT. 



bed. The one described in the engraving has the old-fashioned wheels cut out 
of a solid piece of wood. These vehicles are now, however, nearly obsolete; 
their unfitness having been understood, they have given way before modern 
improvements. In Ireland there are few turnpikes ; the repairs of the roads 



The charge for posting is almost invariably 6d. a-mile for one person : and Sd. a-mile for two or 
more persons : the post-boys expect 2d. a-mile : and Sd. a-mile when two horses are driven — when 
the charge for posting (in a post-chaise with two horses) is Is. a-mile. 



86 



OLD IKISH EOAD. 



usually falling upon the county, money for the purpose being annually voted by 
the grand juries. The roads are for the most part good ; and of late years, a 
better system of surveying, so largely introduced into the country, has led to 
the formation of "new lines "to nearly every place of importance. The old 







OLD IRISH ROAD. 



plan, therefore, of carrying a road " as the bird flies," up and down the steepest 
hills, through morasses, and along the brinks of frightful precipices, has been 
entirely abandoned ; and, at present, the carriage will generally require springs 
no stronger than those which are used in England. The lover of the pictur- 



THE CAR-DRIVERS. 87 



esque, indeed, will not unfrequently prefer the rugged pathway of former 
times, and think himself amply repaid for greater toil and fatigue by the 
prospect opened to him from the mountain tops, or the refreshment he derives 
from following the course of the river that rushes through the valley. He 
will, however, sometimes have to leave the car, and walk through a morass, 
over a broken bridge, or along a dangerous ravine, which time has deprived of 
the wall that once guarded it. The artist supplied us with a sketch, that may 
convey some idea of the "perils that do environ" the traveller who seeks 
adventure along the neglected or deserted tracks. 

Persons who have never travelled in Ireland can have but a very inadequate 
idea of the wit and humour of the Irish car-drivers. They are for the most 
part a thoughtless and reckless set of men, living upon chances, always 
" taking the world aisy " — that is to say, having no care for the morrow, and 
seldom being owners of a more extensive wardrobe than the nondescript 
mixture they carry about their persons. They are the opposites in all respects 
of the English postilions : the latter do their duty, but seldom familiarise their 
" fares " to the sound of their voices. In nine cases out of ten the traveller 
never exchanges a word with his post-boy ; a touch of the hat acknowledges 
the gratuity when "the stage" is ended; and the driver having consigned his 
charge to his successor, departs, often in ignorance whether his chaise has 
contained man, woman, or child. He neither knows, nor cares for, aught of 
their concerns, except that he is to advance so many miles upon such a road 
according to the instructions of his employer. The Irish driver, on the con- 
trary, will ascertain, during your progress, where you come from, where you 
are going, and, very often, what you are going about. He has a hundred ways 
of wiling himself into your confidence, and is sure to put in a word or two 
upon every available opportunity ; yet in such a manner as to render it impos- 
sible for you to subject him to the charge of impertinence. Indeed it is a 
striking peculiarity of the lower classes of the Irish that they can be familiar 
without being presuming ; tender advice without appearing intrusive ; and even 
command your movements without seeming to interfere in the least with your 
own free-will. This quality the car-driver enjoys to perfection. Formerly, he 
rarely took his seat without being half- intoxicated ; now-a-days an occurrence 
of the kind is very rare. It cannot be denied, however, that much of 
his natural drollery has vanished with the whiskey. The chances now are that 



ss 



POOR-HOUSES. 



the Irish driver will be as commonplace a personage as the English postilion, 
conveying you safely to your journey's end without causing alarm or exciting 
laughter. Still you may be lucky in meeting a pleasant fellow, who combines 
the humour of the old school with the prudence of the new ; who can be sober 
without being stupid ; who can entertain you wit h amusing anecdotes along a 
dull road; describe interesting objects upon a road that supplies them, and 
communicate information upon all points of importance, without endangering 
the bones of the passenger.* 




OON after leaving Dublin, the Tourist will drop down 
upon one of the many "Poor Houses," that are now 
scattered through every part of Ireland : he will require 
some information on this subject : we must give it briefly. 
The destitute condition of the very poor in Ireland had 
been, for centuries, a reproach to the Legislature ; but although 
the State made no provision for the aged and incapable of labour, 
the tax for their maintenance has been always a grievous tax — 
pressing not the less heavily because it was a voluntary one — 
for it fell upon the generous and released the mercenary, and was 
levied, to a considerable extent, upon the classes only a degree 
removed from the destitution they relieved. Distress was met in three or four 
ways : collections were made for the poor in all churches and chapels of the 
country ; immediately after the sermon and before the congregation was dis- 
missed, the box was handed to every sitter ; and occasionally charity sermons 



* Did space permit, we might relate many characteristic anecdotes of the genus that would 
amuse our readers. We heard a story of a fellow who on grumbling at the shilling gratuity at 
his journey's end, said in a sly under tone, " Faith it's not putting me off with this ye'd be, if ye 
knew but all." The traveller's curiosity was excited, "What do you mean?" "Oh faix ! that 
'ud be telling." Another shilling was tendered. " And now," asked the gentleman, "what do 
you mean by saying if you knew but all? " " That I druv yer honour the last three miles widout 
a linch-pin ! " We had ourselves once a touching application for the string of our cloak " to tie 
up a small bit of the harness that was broke into smithereens from the weight of the hill." 
"Willi pay the pike or drive at it, plase yer honour?" was the exclamation of a driver to his pas- 
senger, as he suddenly drew up a few yards from the turnpike-gate. " Drive to " exclaimed 

an angry passenger : "Troth, I'll drive ye there if ye wish it — but I'll back yer honour in," was 
the ready answer. 



BEGGARS. 



were delivered, which, usually produced large sums. It will be obvious, that 
by this meaus the uncharitable were never reached. Another mode of raising 
money was by subscriptions, to supply blankets in hard seasons, and food 
during periodical visitations of famine; the contributions of the selfish to 
this fund were also very limited. The several charitable institutions, in- 
cluding the " mendicity associations," were supported, exclusively, by the 
charitable ; in fact, payments for the maintenance of the destitute being in no 
degree compulsory, they were made only by those who sympathised with 
human suffering, and had hearts that could be touched. 

Upon the humblest classes the tax, though voluntary, fell with even greater 
weight. The door of the poor man's cabin was never closed against a man or 
woman still poorer ; he gave a little from his little to every one who asked 
it ; the itinerant beggar was never without a wallet ; and we have known it 
to be often full, when the cottagers who contributed to fill it stood themselves 
in greater need of its contents. Much of this evil — for an evil it was and is — 
arose from the natural generosity of the Irish character ; a sort of pleasure 
derived from giving; but much of it may also be attributed to a superstitious 
notion, that to refuse charity is a sin, that charity literally " covers a multi- 
tude of sins," and that it goes to purchase an abridgement of punishment 
hereafter, for the giver and those whom the giver holds dear. No worse cha- 
racter could be given to any man than that he was " a hard man to the poor." 

Under these circumstances, mendicancy became often a trade — resorted 
to sometimes, at first, from necessity, and continued because of the release 
from labour it afforded. The beggars have been, time out of mind, the 
reproach of Ireland : wherever and whenever a car or carriage stopped, it was 
sure to be surrounded by some such group as the following — which the artist 
pictured long ago ; and which we retain only as a fragment of old Irish history, 
for such a scene will never more meet the eye of the Tourist : the beggars 
indeed belong to a gone-by age ; although in many districts the traveller will 
still have irresistible demands upon his sympathy and his charity. 

Their wit and humour were as proverbial as their rags and wretchedness ; and 
both too frequently excited a laugh, at the cost of serious reflection upon their 
misery and the means by which it might be lessened. Every town was full of 
objects who paraded their afflictions with ostentation, or exhibited their half- 
naked children, as so many claims to alms as a right — age, decrepitude, imbe- 



90 



BEGGARS. 



sility, and disease.* Sometimes, however, they were picturesque even to 

1 




BEGGARS IN THE OLDEN TIMES. 

grace — witness the following, of which an artist made a sketch for us, as 
she stood silent and " down- looking " by the side of our car. Such living 

* The language in which they framed their petitions was always pointed, forcible, and, gene- 
rally, highly poetic : — " Good luck to yer ladyship's happy face this morning — sure ye'll lave the 
light heart in my bussom before ye go?" — " Oh, then, look at the poor that can't look at you, my 
lady ; the dark man that can't see if yer beauty is like yer sweet voice ; " — " Darlin gintleman, 
the heavens be yer bed, and give us something ; "— " Oh, the blessing of the widdy and five small 
childer, that's waiting for yer honour's bounty, 'ill be wid ye on the road ; " — " Oh, help the pooj. 
craythur that's got no childer to show yer honour — they're down in the sickness, and the man 
that owns them at sea ; " — " Oh, then, won't your ladyship buy a dying woman's prayers — chape ? " 
— " They're keeping me back from the penny you're going to give me, lady dear, because I'm 
wake in myself and the heart's broke wid the hunger." Such are a few of the sentences we 
gathered from such groups ; we might fill pages with similar examples of ingenious appeals. 

A beggar, on receiving a refusal from a Poor Law Commissioner, addressed him with, "Ah, then, 
it's little business you'd have only for the likes of us ; " another, vainly soliciting charity from a 
gentleman with red hair, thrust forward her child, with, " And won't ye give a ha'penny to the 
little hoy? — sure he's foxy like yer honour." " You've lost all your teeth," was said to one of 
them : " Time for me to lose 'em, when I've got nothing for 'em to do," was the reply. 



91 



pictures are indeed often encountered by the way-side, forming natural 
models for the artist: even the coarse and frequently ragged cloak falling 
in graceful folds over the shoulders; the bare feet adding to the natural cha- 
racter of beauty. 

The Poor-law has in a great measure eradicated this national reproach. "We 
do not mean to say that it has 
removed, or ever will remove, 
entirely, the necessity for private 
and voluntary charity; or that 
it has cleared, or ever will clear, 
the streets and roads of beggars ; 
but most certainly it has already 
greatly lessened the former, and 
diminished the latter evil. It 
has induced the charitable to in- 
stitute more minute inquiries 
before giving relief; it has jus- 
tified greater care in the distri- 
bution of charity; and it has 
removed out of sight the dis- 
gusting objects — the idiotic, the 
diseased, and the maimed — who 
have been in a manner forced 
into the shelter of the work- 
house. 

The first act for the relief of 
the poor was passed in the year 
1838. " An act for the more ef- 
fectual relief of the Destitute 
Poor in Ireland/' received the royal assent on the 31st July, 1838; and the 
first workhouse was opened in the year 1840. The annual expenditure in the 
relief of paupers slowly increased from 37,000/. in 1840 to upwards of a million, 
whilst in the year 1849 it exceeded two millions ! The following table, com- 
piled by Mr. Thorn, in his admirable almanac, will place the statistics of 
the poor-laws with sufficient clearness before the reader. 




-*'£' 



BEGGAR-GIRL. 



92 



THE WORKHOUSE. 



A Table shoiving a 



foiw 



vieio of the expenditure of the Poor Law system for the 
29 of September 1851. 



Year 
ending 
Sept. US. 


EXPENDITURE DURING THE YEAR. 


NUMUER RELIEVED. 


In 

maintenance. 


Out 
Relief. 


Salaries 

and all other 

expenses. 


Total. 


In-door. 


Out- door. 


1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 


£ 
605,138 

797,294 

710,945 

692,914 


£ 

725,578 

679,604 
120,789 
11,399 


£ 

504,920 

700,753 
598,374 
437,334 


£ 
1,835,634 

2,177,651 

1,430,108 

1,141,647 


Numbers. 
610,463 
932,284 
SOS, 702 
707,443 


Numbers. 

1,433,042 

1,210,482 

368,565 

47,914 



The number of persons receiving out-door relief during the year 1849 was 
1,210,482 ; in 1850 the number was only 358,565, showing a decrease of 841,917- 




THE WORKHOUSE. 



In 1851 the total number relieved fell to 47,914, a reduction of 1,162,568 when 
compared with 1849, and of 320,651 when compared to the year 1850. These 
facts are most gratifying, and testify, as in fact everything now does in Ireland, 
not only the recovery of the country from the horrors of starvation, but the 
rapid improvement in every class and interest. 

Of the character of the buildings generally, this "bird's-eye view" will, 



THE WOHKHOTJSE. 



93 



convey a sufficiently accurate idea. There are, however, several houses with 
elevations differing from the one here given — intended to diversify the appear- 
ance of these structures in different localities. 

It may be interesting to accompany this plan of the building with one of the 
ground-floor. 

During our tours in Ireland, we had many opportunities of inspecting the 
workhouses in the northern, west- .^ 

' t ^ r».<.c.|— x -|| HOUSE 

ern, and, partially, the eastern dis- 
tricts of the island. We entered 
the greater number of them, sud- 
denly and unaccompanied, and not 
upon " show-days," when prepara- 
tions might have been made, so 
that disagreeable features were 
concealed, or rendered less than 
usually repulsive. We found them 
invariably clean, well-ordered, and 
with evidence of good and steady 
discipline; the masters and ma- 
trons, as far as we could judge, in- 
telligent, kindly, and considerate; 
the various regulations appeared to 
have been framed with judgment, 
and a due regard to the comforts 
of the inmates ; and the poor peo- 
ple domiciled therein seemed, for 
the most part, not only satisfied and 
contented, but grateful, and sensi- 
ble that they had been, in reality, 
"relieved." 

Of able-bodied paupers, such as 
we see far too often in the work- 
houses of England, we saw few or 
none — literally none of the male 
sex ; and where we noticed women capable of labour, we found that their chil- 




94 



THE WORKHOUSE. 



dren were generally inmates of another ward. Cleanliness is not only incul- 
cated as a duty, but rendered imperative; and out of this must arise immense 
benefit, if not to the present, certainly to the after, generation. Ventilation is made 
to contribute to health, and to give the valuable influence of example. Decent 
beds, in place of miserable heaps of wet and filthy straw, not only contribute to 
existing comforts, but they become necessaries — necessaries that will be 
procured hereafter by those who have had experience of their advantages. 
Wholesome food — poor as it would be considered by the English pauper — and 
in sufficient quantities, instead of food insufficient in amount, and of bad 
quality ; shelter from the weather ; warm and comfortable apartments, both by 
day and night ; good and ample clothing ; habits of cleanliness, decency, and 
order ;— such are, in brief, the advantages which the workhouse presents ;• if 
they are advantages to be described and treated as the rights of the English 
poor, they are, in truth, " novelties " with which the Irish poor have been here- 
tofore utterly unacquainted. The love of liberty — or, to speak more correctly, 
the hatred of restraint — that has ever characterised the Irish peasant, will always 
prevent the workhouse from being over-full — except in cases such as those 
which have unhappily marked the few years past as "black years," even in a 
country always depressed and unfortunate. In Ireland, therefore, we consider 
these public establishments not only as pregnant with immediate good to the 
suffering, but as rich in promise of future improvement to the whole population 
of the country ; — not only as taking away a national reproach, as providing 
an asylum for the destitute, as removing wretchedness from the high-ways and 
bye-ways, — but as laying the foundation of a sound and wholesome state of 
society, in lieu of one that has been for centuries an anomaly in civilization. 

No doubt much of the decrease in the pauper poor of Ireland is the result 
of Emigration, as well as of famine and disease ; for it is a leading charac- 
teristic of the Irish that they never forget in prosperity the friends they have 
loved in adversity ; and it is very rarely indeed that a letter of remembrance 
comes from America, or a far-off colony, to a relation " at Home," without an 
accompaniment of money to pay a " passage out." 

The humbler Irish now-a-days, when they utter the old familiar prayer that 
they may " lay their bones among their own people," are forced to bear in mind 
that their last resting-place must be in another land. 



THE POTATO. 




^ EKEAPS the Tourist will here allow us space to make 
some note concerning the Potato, — for centuries, and to 
a large extent even now, the food of the Peasantry of 
Ireland. 

There is little doubt, that the first potatoes grown in 
the British Empire were planted at Youghal — probably 
in 1586 — by Sir Walter Ealeigh, who was closely 
connected with + hat town ; of which he was Mayor in 
1588 * It is stated by Dr. Smith (History of Cork), upon the authority of a 
tradition not unlikely to be well founded, that " the person who planted them, 
imagining that the apple which grows on the stalk was the part to be used, 
gathered them ; but not liking their taste, neglected their roots, till the ground 
being dug afterwards to sow some other grain, the potatoes were discovered 
therein, and, to the great surprise of the planter, vastly increased. Prom 
these few," adds the Doctor, '*' this country was furnished with seed. 5 ' Por a 
long period, however, the potato was cultivated in gardens as a rarity, and did 
not become general food. Ben Jonson, in his play of "Every Man out of his 
Humour," refers to them as a luxury: "larks, sparrows, and potato pies" — 
and during the reign of James I. they were sold at 2s. a pound. Palstaff, in 
the " Merry Wives of Windsor," is made to say, "Let the sky rain potatoes, 
and hail kissing comfits;" — the "kissing comfits" being made principally of 
potatoes; and in Troilus and Cressida the poet speaks of "Luxury with her 
potato finger." In many other of the older dramatists allusions to the potato 
may be found. 

It is uncertain when the potato became an article of general food in Ireland ; 
and it is more thau probable that, as in England, they had long been considered 
"conserves, toothsome and daintie," before they were in common use. 
It is unnecessary to state that, for above a century and a half, the potato 

* Sir Joseph Banks, who took considerable pains to investigate the subject, considers that the 
potato was introduced into the British Islands (but not first in Ireland) in July 1586; by the 
return expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh, for which the patent passed the Great Seal in 1584. 
Heriot, a scientific man, who accompanied the expedition, describes, under the head of "roots" 
those, called in Virginia " Openawk," which he says are "round, some as large as a walnut, 
others much larger; they grow in damp soil, many hanging together, as if fixed on ropes; they 
are good food, either boiled or roasted." The Baron Cuvier denies that the potato was derived 
from Virginia. 



96 THE POTATO. 



has been almost the only food of the peasantry of Ireland. They raise corn, 
indeed — wheat, barley, and oats, in abundance — but it is for export; and 
although the assertion may startle many, we have no hesitation in saying there 
are hundreds in the less civilized districts of the country who have never eaten 
bread. Whether the Irish have to bless or ban the name of Sir Walter 
Raleigh is a matter still in dispute — some execrating " the lazy root," " the 
accursed root," as, if not the originator, the sustainer of Irish povert and 
wretchedness ; others contending that the introduction of the potato was an 
ample set-off against the wars and confiscations of Elizabeth, her councillors, 
and her armies. It is universally admitted, that a finer or hardier race of 
peasantry cannot be found in the world ; and although it is considered that 
their strength fails them at a comparatively early age, it is impossible to deny 
the nutritive qualities of a food upon which so many millions have thriven and 
increased. But there can be as little doubt that the ease with which the 
means of existence are procured has been the cause of evil. A very limited 
portion of land, a few days of labour, and a small amount of manure, will 
create a stock upon which a family may exist for twelve months : too generally, 
indeed, the periods between exhausting the old stock and digging the new, are 
seasons of great want, if not of absolute famine ; but if the season is propi- 
tious, the peasant digs, day after day, the produce of his plot of ground, and 
before the winter sets in, places the residue in a pit to which he has access 
when his wants demand a supply. Nearly every soil will produce potatoes ; 
they may be seen growing almost from a barren rock, on the side of a moun- 
tain, and in the bog, where the foot would sink many inches in the soil. Every 
cottage has its garden — its acre or a perch of land attached; and as the 
culture requires but a very small portion of the peasant's time and still less of 
his attention, his labour is to be disposed of, or his time may be squandered in 
idleness. He can live, at all events — if his crop do not fail : and he can pay his 
rent, if his pig — fed, like himself, out of his garden — do not die. To decency 
of clothing and to any of the luxuries that make life something more than 
mere animal existence, he is too often a stranger. Contentment may be the 
''parent of delight," but it is not the nurse of civilization; and he who has no 
wants beyond those of the appetites he shares in common with the " brutes 
that perish" is not likely to advance his social and moral condition. On the 
whole, it is, perhaps, to be lamented that the use of " Ireland's root " has been 



THE POTATO. 



07 




so universal in the country, and that the people have been so well contented 
with it that they have made no exertion to mix the potato with varied food. 

The potatoes are boiled in an iron 
pot — such as that represented in the 
print ; they are strained in " tlie 
basket " — pictured also ; from which 
they are thrown upon the table, 
seldom without a cloth, and around it 
the family sit on stools and bosses (the ' 
boss is a low seat made of straw); ~~~- -— ' '""'' — 
the usual drink is buttermilk, when it can be had : which drink goes round in a 
small "piggin" — a sort of miniature of the English pail. This, the three- 
legged stool, and the "borrane," are delineated in the annexed engraving. 
The borrane is formed of a scraped sheepskin, drawn round a hoop ; and is 
used instead of a sieve for winnowing 
corn, filling sacks with grain, holding- 
wool, when carded and ready for the 
spinning-wheel, or the feathers — plucked 
three times in the year from an un- 
fortunate gander and his wives— and 
sometimes, as a lordly dish— though of 
inexpensive workmanship — to hold the 
potatoes, which constitute the family 
fare. 

The history of the potato, however, 
almost refers to Ireland in the past ; " the Potato failure," which commenced 
in 1847, has rather increased than diminished annually ever since: and 
although acres upon acres are still planted in hope of crops, confidence in 
the root has lost ground yearly, and dependence upon it as an article of food 
is rapidly vanishing. Really good potatoes are now seldom met with in any 
part of Ireland; the "red apples," "Connaught lumpers," "ladies' whites," 
and a score of other "named" sorts, are rarely seen; and the sight of 
a basket-full " splitting their sides with laughter " is now-a-days out of the 
question anywhere. Ireland is no longer "the Land of Potatoes:" the 
substitute most frequently in use, is the flour from Indian corn—" the 




THE TOTATO. 



maale," as the peasantry term it by way of reproach : for their prejudice 
against it is not yet overcome — although, in many cases, they freely admit its 
advantages over their old favourite. It should be remembered, however, that 
in case of their dining upon either, they are usually forced to dine upon it 
without " accessories." The potato alone was pleasant and palatable " ating :•" 
not so the " yalla maale ; " although the one would be infinitely better than the 
other, if it had the accompaniments of meat and drink indispensable to the 
English peasant. 

The India meal is generally made into stirabout. It is seldom baked into a 
coarse cake, though the embers of the turf supply facilities for such baking. 
The poorer classes have no notion of improving their stirabout by the addition 
of any herb, or relish. Potatoes and cabbage, and recently a few turnips, are 
the only vegetables they will eat. Onions, cresses, watercresses, and sorrels — 
the last of which grow wild — are never used, though they are a great im- 
provement upon the insipidity of yellow stirabout. Day after day the cottier 
and his family continue to eat the same ungrateful meal, humbly trusting that 
Providence will restore the potato next year ; but making scarce an effort to 
render the present more endurable. 

Indeed, the condition of the Irish peasant "at home" cannot fail often to 
sadden the enjoyment of the Tourist : it will appal him in many of his happiest 
hours, and infallibly lessen the pleasure he derives from contemplating the 
abundance of God's gifts to the country. The marvel is how so much con- 
tentment and so much virtue have been always found, notwithstanding, in the 
Irish cabin : in no homes of the wide world have the domestic ties been drawn 
closer than they are in these miserable hovels : out of them have issued a brave 
and kindly race, of whom it is not too much to say, in the words of one of the 
oldest of their historians, " Their virtues are their own, their vices have been 
thrust upon them." 



THE COUNTY OF WICEXOW. 




DEQUATELY to picture half the beauties of beautiful 
Wicklow would require a large and full volume. We must 
be content so to stimulate the appetite of the Tourist, that 
he may long for the rich banquet which Nature has abun- 
dantly provided for him. Wicklow is the garden of Ireland ; 
its prominent feature is, indeed, sublimity — wild grandeur, 
healthful and refreshing ; but among its high and bleak mountains 
there are numerous rich and fertile valleys, luxuriantly wooded, and 
with the most romantic rivers running through them — forming, in 
fe/ their course, an endless variety of cataracts. Its natural graces are 
enhanced in value, because they are invariably encountered after the eye 
and mind have been wearied from gazing upon rude and uncultivated districts, 
covered with peat, upon the scanty herbage of which the small sheep can 
scarcely find pasture. It is to this peculiar feature — its richly adorned 
borders, and the rugged character of its interior — that Dean Swift referred, 
when he likened the county to " a frieze mantle fringed with gold-lace." 
The chief attractions of Wicklow are its glens — " clefts," as it were, in 
the mountains, through which the hill-torrents have burst; every one of 
them falling, repeatedly, from immense heights; often, for considerable 
space, without encountering a single break. Down the sides of each, the 
perpetual dripping of moisture has nourished the growth of trees and un- 
derwood. Usually, the work of Nature has been improved by the skill of 
Art, and it is impossible to imagine a scene more sublime and beautiful than 
one of these ravines, of which there are so many. Some of them, as the 

h2 



LcfC. 



100 TVICKLOW. 



Vale of Avoca, become valleys of miles in extent; others, as the Devil's 
Glen, and Glen of the Downs, are fine " passages ; " and in others again, 
as the Scalp, on a small scale, and Glenmalnre, the " depths " are barren, 
and covered only by the debris that have fallen from above, or been shaken 
from the sides — huge rocks without verdure, but of singular varieties in size 
and form. Every now and then, we meet with places of very gentle beauty ; 
small rivulets that have been sent out, as young and innocent things, by the 
brawling and rushing river, as it forces apart all impediments that would bar 
its voyage to the sea: — brooks that mimic their rough parents, in the rippling 
music they make among the comparatively tiny stones : — " brooks " such as 
have been pictured by the most eloquent of our living poets — 



whose society the poet seeks, 



Intent his wasted spirits to renew ; 
And whom the curious painter doth pursue 
Through rocky passes, among flowery creeks, 
And tracks thee dancing down thy water-breaks." 

These natural graces have ample scope and time to fix themselves in 
memory; for, as we have intimated, they are situated in the midst of arid 
plains, or utterly barren mountains — land that yields but little, and that 
reluctautly, to the industry and enterprise of the husbandman. Descending 
from any one of the hills, the moment the slope commences, the prospect 
becomes cheering beyond conception ; all that wood, rock, and water — infinitely 
varied — can do to render a scene grand and beautiful, has been wrought 
in the valley over which the eye wanders ; trees of every form and hue, from 
the lightest and the brightest green, to the most sombre brown, or — made so 
by distance — the deepest purple; rivers, of every possible character, from 
the small thread of white that trickles down the hill-side, to the broad 
and deep current that rushes along, furiously, a mass of foam and spray, 
scattering, now and then, fertilising contributions, in pleasant streamlets, 
among the adjacent fields; or gathering into huge lakes, in the midst of 
mountains that deny exit. 

The vicinity of the county of Wicklow* to the Irish metropolis is of 

* The county ofWicklow possesses little historic interest ; for centuries it formed a portion of 
the county of Wexford, from which it was separated, and made shire ground, so late as the reign 
of Elizabeth. Thinly inhabited — vast portions being barren, or covered with wood — it was left to 
the undisputed possession of a few wild Irish septs; or rather, it was found impossible to " ex- 
tirpate" them, because of the impenetrable forests and glens in which they lurked. To their 



THE MILITARY ROAD. 101 



prodigious advantage to those who, " in populous city pent," require occasional 
intercourse with Nature, either as a relaxation or an enjoyment. And, perhaps, 
there are few crowded capitals in the world so auspiciously situated — so 
immediately within reach of such a concourse of natural beauties. Splendid 
mansions and cottages ornees have, consequently, been numerously built in 
happily chosen sites ; they are, for the most part, in the midst of foliage, and 
rarely, or never, mar the effect of the adjacent scenery ; on the contrary, they 
very frequently advantage it, crowning the heights of closely clad steeps, 
standing upon the borders of broad lakes, or occupying promontories that jut 
out into, and turn the currents of, the rivers. 

One of the principal roads through the mountainous districts of Wicklow, is 
termed " the military road." It was formed soon after the rebellion of 1798, 
the ostensible object being to facilitate the march of troops into the disturbed 
parts of the county; but the real purpose was to open communications 
through it, and so to promote civilisation and forward practical improvements. 
There are few benefactors so truly useful as the road-makers. Before this road 
was made, the hills and valleys of the interior were almost as unapproachable 
to the stranger as islands without boats. Tour barracks were subsequently 
built, at considerable distances apart, on the new line ; the sites chosen were 
Glencree, Laragh, Glenmalure, and Aughavanagh. They have been sold by 
the Government, and been converted occasionally into inns, farm-houses, or 
sporting lodges. They are usually beheld from very far distances — the design 
of the builders being, naturally, to combine as much command of the adjacent 
country as was possible, with a facility of marching in cases of sudden calls. 
They stand, therefore, in the midst of broad plains, but plains which are at 
considerable elevations above the valleys. 

By the Enniskerry road — if we proceed by that — the county is entered at 
" the Scalp," a chasm in the mountain which separates it from the county of 
Dublin. The mountain appears to have been divided by some sudden shock of 
nature. The sides are not " precipitous," although the ascent is difficult, in 

rule the lovely county was left until the close of that Queen's reign, when their ravages and 
daring assaults upon the Capital drew upon them the vengeance of the state. The " septs " were 
principally those of the O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles. 

It is certain — although the histories of the O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles are supplied exclusively 
by their enemies— that they were a brave and energetic race, struggling for their own and their 
country's liberty, among their native mountains, and " very difficult to deal withal." The ruins 
of some of their castles still exist. 



102 



THE SCALP. 



consequence of the huge masses of granite, that prevent the semblance 
of a path, and not unfrequently so jut out as to suggest the idea of 
exceeding danger — seeming as if they may be driven into the vale by a sudden 
gust of wind. Through these overhanging cliffs the road runs; enormous 
granite blocks, of many tons in weight, having been " rolled-back " out of the 
path of the traveller. The sides are perfectly naked ; and so similar are both, 




THE SCALP. 



in structure and appearance, as to lead the spectator to imagine that the 
disruption had but recently occurred, and that another earthquake might 
re-unite them, without leaving a fissure between.* 

* The Scalp is ten and a half miles from Dublin, and nearly two from Enniskerry. The reader 
will bear in mind that we are speaking of Irish miles ; and that eleven Irish miles are equivalent 
to fourteen English. A correct notion of this difference is, indeed, absolutely necessary ; for 
persons, generally, are not aware that when reference is made to "Rents," by the acre, and these 
rents are placed in comparison with the rents paid in England, regard should be had to the fact 



LOUGH BRAY. 



103 



The road into Enniskerry gradually slopes, until the pretty little town, 
entered by a bridge over the river Kerry, is seen in a deep valley beneath — 
especially cheering to the eye after the rugged Scalp and the barren district 
through which the traveller has passed. 




EFORE we proceed onwards, we must direct the Tourist 
to make a detour to the west ; for in the hills of the 
barony of Rathdown, are many objects of surpassing 
interest— among others the source of the Liffey, and 
the dark Lougii Bray. Lough Bray is situated in the 
centre of a peculiarly lonely district ; the lake — or more 
correctly, the lakes, for there are two, the upper and 
lower, the lower being the larger and more remarkable, 
and the one to which especial reference is made — is almost circular, near the 
summit of a mountain; from one side of which protrudes a huge crag, dark 
and bare, called " the Eagle's Nest." It is, indeed, " walled in " on three 
sides by lofty and precipitous hills, and is open on the fourth — at the lowest 
point of which its waters are poured through a narrow opening into the valley 

that the Irish acre contains so much more than the English acre. There are in Ireland three dif- 
ferent sized acres, by which land is measured. The English, or statute acre ; the Scotch, or 
Cunningham acre ; and the Irish, or Plantation acre. The area of each acre depends upon the 
length of its respective lineal perch. 

The length of the English lineal perch is 5J yards . . H_ 

The length of the Scotch lineal perch is 6j yards . . 64 

The length of the Irish lineal perch is 7 yards . . ~'_ 

The proportion of the different acres to each other is as the 
squares of their respective lineal perches. 

The square of 5§ is equal to 30|, or 4 T 8 /. 
The square of 6j is equal to 39^, or 6 T 2 j\ 
The square of 7 is equal to 49, or 7 T 8 /. 

Consequently the proportion of the English, the Scotch, and 
the Irish acres to each other are respectively as the numbers 
484, 625, and 784. If we leave out the Scotch acre altogether, 
the numbers representing the proportion of the English to the 
Irish acre are reducible, and will be found as 121, to 196. 
We notice the Scotch acre, chiefly because it is the usual measure employed in some northern 
Irish counties. 



5i 


■■c 


- 






7 





104 



THE COTTAGE AT LOUGH BRAT. 



of Glencree, forming the Glencree river, which joining with the Glenislorane in 
Powerscourt demesne, passes through the Dargle, and finally flows into the 
sea, under the name of the Bray river. The waters of Lough Bray are coloured 
very deeply by the peat which covers the surrounding hills, through which the 
water permeates ; and the deep and gloomy tint is increased by the shadow into 
which the lake is thrown by the overhanging mountain to the south and west. 
There is one object connected with Lough Bray that looks like the work of 
enchantment; the Swiss cottage and grounds belonging to Sir P. Crampton, 
Bart, (the surgeon-general), appears suddenly in the wild bog, and seems as if 
" rising at the stroke of a magician's wand." The wall that surrounds these 
grounds is not, in some places, as high as the bank of peat within a few feet 
of it, and the contrast between the neglect, desolation, and barrenness that 
reign without, and the order, cultivation, and beauty within, is very strik- 
_ . -^i?5v^-.- i n & exhibiting the 

- - ~ ~— fW 7 ^-"- mastery which sci- 

v ^^ ence and civilization 
hold over nature 
even in her stern- 
est and most rug- 
ged domains. The 
cottage and grounds 
are here, in this 
lofty and unre- 
claimed region, 
" like Tadmor in 
the wilderness, or 
an oasis in the de- 
sert."* The view, 
looking north, from 
the road, a little 




THE COTT.VGB AT LOUGH BRAY. 



* " It was erected for Sir Philip Crampton, at the expense of his Grace the Duke of Northum- 
berland, who, while Viceroy of Ireland, had spent some happy days with Sir Philip in this 
romantic spot, in a cottage of humbler pretensions, which had occupied its site, and was 
accidentally burned. The gift was one equally worthy of the illustrious donor, and the accom- 
plished and estimable receiver; and it is not too much to say that ' all Ireland' will join in the 
wish that he may long live to enjoy it." 



PHOUL-A-PHOOEA. 105 



below the lake, is most glorious ; to the right the mountains of Douce and 
War standing out in bold relief ; to the left the Kippure mountain ; before us 
the valley of Glencree and the demesne of Powerscourt ; and further on an 
apparently illimitable succession of hill and valley, wood and grove, towns and 
villages, as far as the eye can reach. 

There are few richer treats in Ireland for the hardy pedestrian who will 
walk this district : for as we have elsewhere stated, it is approachable by 
carriages only from Dublin. But let the Tourist make this excursion if he can : 
he will be amply recompensed for his labour, especially if he be a brother of the 
angle, and will pause now and then to throw a fly over some tempting river 
or across some mountain stream. 

Several miles further to the west — and to be more easily visited by the 
direct Blessington road from Dublin — is the solemn and dreary solitude, 
out of which rushes the waterfall of Phoul-a-Phooea, terminating in a whirl- 
pool, of depth, it is said, unfathomed, and where the famous spirit-horse holds 
its nightly revels : luring unhappy wayfarers into the frightful vortex formed 
by the waters of the cataract. Its summit is crossed by an exceedingly 
picturesque bridge — of a single arch — the span of which is sixty-five feet, 
thrown from rock to rock.* Although not in the direct "Tourist's Route," 
many tourists will be willing to verge so far from the appointed path to visit 
this remarkable scenery. The "Phooca" is among the most fertile of the Irish 
fairy superstitions. 

* Phoul-a-Phooka is the name given to a succession of cataracts, one hundred and fifty feet 
in height and forty in breadth, over which the waters of the Liffey are precipitated. This river 
rises, to the south-east, in the Kippure mountains, and here, at one hound, as it were, springs 
from the hills to the valley. The spectacle from the bridge is sublime to a degree. Looking 
over one side we see only the river hurrying on to take its fearful leap ; but on the opposite, we 
gaze down one hundred and fifty feet, upon the foaming waters that have, in the interim, passed 
under us. The falls are seen to great advantage by passing the bridge and entering the grounds 
on Mr. Hornidge's side of the river, which are planted and laid out in good taste. The spectator 
may obtain many fine views from the lowest to the highest point of the fall ; which, however 
they may vary in particular features, all agree in grandeur and beauty. The middle fall is the 
greatest — and the term Phoul-a-Phocka is more immediately applied to the round basin in which 
the water is thrown, and which is worn smooth by the never-ceasing friction of the eddy — said 
to bear, on a small scale, a close resemblance to the famous Maelstrom whirlpool. The ground 
on the opposite side of the river, which belongs to Lord Miltown, is as barren and desolate as 
that on Mr. Hornidge's side is the reverse. There are covered seats, cool walks, grottoes, and 
a ball-room, which in "the season" is much frequented by "sod parties," when a dance is no 
unfrequent termination to a pic-nic. 



106 



IRISH FAIRY SUPERSTITIONS. 




ERHAPS the reader will permit us here to supply him 
with some notice of one of the most peculiarly Irish of 

\ the race of " the good people." The belief that igno- 
rance received, education rejects : and although compa- 
ratively few will now be found to walk even an unaccus- 
tomed path with terror, to shudder as they pass the 
" haunted green," or have any faith in the pranks of the 
mischievous imp who — 

" Makes us to stray- 
Long winter nights out of the way, 
And when we stick in mire and clay- 
He doth with laughter leave us ! " 

— that few indeed do reverence now-a-days to the fairy ring in the fields, or 
leave a pat of the freshly churned butter, or " the cream bowl duly set," for 
Robin Goodfellow, or have any terror of toe-pinching of slovenly housemaids, 
— though Faith is gone as regards those 

" Demi-puppets that 
By moonshine do the green sour ringlets make, 
Whereof the ewe not bites; and they whose pastime 
Is to make midnight mushrooms, that rejoice 
To hear the solemn curfew ! " 

— that, in brief, though education and " matter-of-fact " have triumphed over 
the realms of Faery and their tiny inhabitants — there was a time when faith 
in supernatural influences seemed a part of our universal nature — and from 
the wisdom of burning or drowning witches down to the policy of throwing 
spilled salt over the left shoulder, all that could conciliate or propitiate the 
" spirits every where about us," were duties second only to those we owed to 
the Creator of all. 

Ail nations and people have, or have had, their poetical superstitions : but 
those of the Irish are perhaps the most poetical, and certainly the most clearly 
defined of them all: were, we should rather say, for various causes have 
operated to class them among things gone by. Famine and emigration have 
done their work in Ireland: the spirit that gave birth to poetry is either 
dead, or has gone to chant a mournful dirge by the banks of the Mississippi, 
or in some less genial land. Ireland to-day presents an appalling picture to 



IRISH FAIRY SUPERSTITIONS. 107 

those who would be merry and not sad : all its old customs are in abeyance — 
there is no marrying or giving in marriage : the dead are buried without the 
wake ; and the keener is silent in death without a dealh-song : the patterns, 
long ago so gay with dances and joyous laughter, are rarely or never encoun- 
tered in cabin or by the way-side : alas ! even the mealy potato and the kindly 
welcome, are now-a-days but traditions of times already old ! 

We must therefore look for the poetical superstitions of the Irish in the 
books or in the memories of those who gathered stories of them long ago ! 
For the fairies have deserted the raths in which they revelled, and it is rarely 
now that — 

" Fairy elves 



Whose midnight revels, by a forest side, 
Or fountain, some belated peasant sees, 
Or dreams he sees, while over-head the moon 
Sits arbitress, and nearer to the earih 
Wheels her pale course ; " 

— very rarely now that they are seen or even talked of in " the Green Island ! " 
The " Fairies " of Ireland are daily losing their repute ; Education and 
Father Mathew having worked havoc among them — their existence will, ere 
long, become a mere history of things and times gone by. During recent 
visits to Ireland, we have been enabled to add very little indeed to our store 
of knowledge on this subject; the peasantry have grown "mighty shy" of 
their communications ; they have become, for the most part, even sceptical 
concerning them; and deliver their anecdotes with an air of doubt, at the 
least, which indicates an abandonment of their cause approaching to contempt 
of their power. We venture to assert that a modern traveller even in 
Donegal or Connaught will not hear from veritable authorities a dozen stories 
of the "good people." A score of years ago he would have heard as many 
from a dozen persons, meet them when or where he would. In Ireland, 
superstitions of a grosser, or more unnatural character, have almost vanished. 
Prejudices will soon follow them. The Rational is making rapid way. Know- 
ledge is extending itself into places hitherto inaccessible. Common sense is 
gradually forcing out the imaginative; and, ere long, the Irish peasant will 
retain little or nothing of a distinctive character* 

* Of late years, many Irish writers have made English readers familiar with the fairy mytho- 
logy of Ireland. Public attention was first directed to the subject — in a popular form, that is to 



10S THE PHOOKA. 



In the main, Irish Fairies — properly so called — unlike the Phooka, the 
Clericaune, and the Banshee, spirits more essentially of Irish birth — resemble 
those of England and other countries, appertaining to " the green sod " only, 
like the natives over -whom they watch, by being more thoroughly poetical 
than they are elsewhere. 

To enter into this subject at length would require more space than we can 
give to it in this volume. We must therefore content our readers with some 
details concerning the Phooka — whose chosen realm the Tourist is now visiting: 
premising merely that even now-a-days, it is no uncommon thing to see a 
horse-shoe nailed to a cottage door as a protection against evil influences : the 
cross smeared with a kind of tar is so commonly adopted for the same purpose, 
that we have seen every door of a whole village so marked. In churning 
butter, it is still the usual custom to leave a bit for the fairies : a peasant who 
sees the wind raising dust into an eddy, knows well that the "good people" are 
going by in procession, and invariably raises his hat from his head, aud 
murmurs, "God speed ye, gentlemen." Their favourite meeting-places are 
Raths. 

The Rath is an artificial mound; often it covers subterranean chambers. 
Raths are popularly attributed to the Danes : that they are structures of very 
remote antiquity is apparent from the circumstance of their being found in 
places where the Danes never settled; as also from the cromleachs and stone 
circles sometimes found on their summits, plainly identifying them with the 
age of heathenism. Their date is indeed lost in the clouds and mists of 
remote ages. There is no object which the peasantry regard with so much 
superstitious dread as the rath, from the belief that it is the especial property 
of the fairies. It is almost impossible to find a labourer who can be tempted 
by any reward to put his spade into one of them. They have consequently 
remained undisturbed for centuries ; often a large space is, therefore, suffered 

say — by Mr. Thomas Crofton Croker, whose volume of " The Fairy Legends of Ireland," has 
obtained a wide circulation. The authors of the principal tales in these volumes are the late 
Dr. Magin, Sir R. Pigot, now Chief Justice of the Court of Exchequer in Ireland, Mr. Joseph 
Humphreys, Mr. Keightly, Mr. C. R. Dodd, Mr. S. C. Hall, and others, whose names we cannot 
call to mind. Some of them were, however, written by Mr. Croker. The famous legend of " Daniel 
O'Rourke" had been current in Ireland " time out of mind." It first appeared in print in a 
periodical called "The Bee," published about fifty years ago; and in the year 1820 it was versified 
in the ottava rima, by Mr. S. Gosnell, of Cork, and published in Blackwood's Magazine. The 
story as it appears in Croker's Fairy Legends is, we believe, the production of Dr. Magin. 



THE PHOOKA. 109 



to continue an unprofitable waste in the centre of a fertile meadow. Stories 
in abundance are told of punishments that have followed attempts to open 
or level these raths, and of scenes and objects witnessed by persons who have 
unconsciously slept beside them, or passed them at night. 
It is very true, indeed, — 

" Such fancies are the coinage of the brain, 
Which, oft rebellious to more sober thought, 
Will these strange phantoms shape : the idle prate 
Of fools and nurses, who in infant minds 
Plant such misshapen stuff, the scorn and scoff 
Of settled reason and of common sense." 

Yet we doubt if society will not sacrifice something in exchanging so entirely 
the imaginative for the matter of fact ; and this utilitarian age may have little 
to boast beyond that of our forefathers, to whom the " good people " were 
veritable existences. 

Of the malignant class of beings composing the Irish fairy mythology — and 
it is creditable to the national character that they are the least numerous — the 
Phooka excels, and is preeminent in malice and mischief. In form he is a very 
Proteus, — generally a horse, but often an eagle. He sometimes assumes the 
figure of a bull ; or becomes an ignis fatuus. Among the great diversity of 
forms at times assumed by him, he exhibits a mixture or compound of the calf 
and goat. Probably it is in some measure owing to the assumption of the 
latter figure that he owes his name ; puc being the Irish for goat. 

The Pouke or Phooka means literally the evil one ; " playing the puck*" a 
common Anglo-Irish phrase, is equivalent to " playing the devil." 

There are many other localities, favourite haunts of the Phooka, and to which 
he has given his name, as Drohid-a-Phooka, Castle Phook, and Carrig-a-Phooka. 
The island of Melaan, also, at the mouth of the Kenmare river, is a chosen site 
whereon this malignant spirit indulges his freaks. It is uninhabited, and is 
dreaded by the peasantry and fishermen, not less because of its gloomy, rugged, 
and stern aspect, than for the tales of terror connected with it. The tempest 
wails fearfully around its spectre-haunted crags, and dark objects (invisible to 
the sceptic) are often seen floating over it in the gloom of night. Shrill noises 
are heard, and cries, and halloos, and wild and moaning sounds; and the 
fishermen benighted or forced upon its rocks may often behoid, in the groups 



110 



TEE PHOOKA. 



which flit around, the cold faces of those long dead — the silent tenants, for 
many years, of field and wave. 

" Whom we know by the light they give 
From their cold gleaming eyes, though they look like men who live." 

The consequence is, that proximity to the island is religiously avoided by 
the boats of the country after sunset, and a bold crew are they who, at 
nightfall, approach its haunted shores. 




THE PHOOI 



. The great object of the Phooka seems to be to obtain a rider; and then he 
is all in his most malignant glory. Headlong he dashes through brier and 
brake, through flood and fell, over mountain, valley, moor, or river, indis- 
criminately ; up or down precipice is alike to him, provided he gratifies the 
malevolence that seems to inspire him. He bounds and flies over and beyond 
them, gratified by the distress, and utterly reckless and ruthless of the cries, 
and danger and suffering, of the luckless wight who bestrides him. 

Of the pranks of the Phooka, as will be imagined, many amusing stories are 
told by the peasantry ; all generally, however, having nearly the same termina- 
tion : — " And, plase yer honour, I found myself in the morning lying in a wet 



THE PHOOKA. Ill 



ditch; and it couldn't be the drop I tuk; for, barring a few glasses at a 
neighbour's, I didn't drink a drop at all at all, all day." But the " drink" now 
so rarely suggests the Phooka, that he has become almost a thing of the past. 

We never heard but of one boy who was " too much " for the Phooka. 

The Phooka had, it appears, played him a trick : having, once upon a time, 
when he was " overtaken in whiskey," galloped with him up hill and down 
dale, through bush, brake, and brier ; " until at last the life was struck out of 
him ; and in the morning he woke and found himself kilt, in the very spot 
where he had met the vicious baste over night." 

" Well, Sir," quoth our informant, " you see Jerry kept himself sober till the 
next gale (rent) day, when his honour, the landlord, wouldn't hear of him going 
home widout a rasonable sup ; and when Jerry came near the ould Castle at 
nightfall, he purtended to be mighty wake, and not able to stand at all at all, 
and, just as he expicted, up trots the Phooka, and, ' Mount, Jerry Deasy,' says 
he, ' and I'll car ye home.' ' Will ye go asy ? ' says Jerry. c As mild as new 
milk,' says the disaving vagabone. Wid that, Jerry gave a spring, and got 
astride him. Well, my dear, off the blackguard set agin, a gallop that ud 
bate a flash o' lightning on the Curragh o' Kildare. But Jerry was too 'cute 
for him this time, and as fast as the Phooka druv, Jerry druv a pair of bran- 
new spurs into his sides, and shtruck away, wid his kippeen, at the head of him 
until the Phooka was as quiet as a lamb, and car'd him to his own door. Now 
wasn't it a grate thing for a boy to do — to make a tame nagur of a Phooka ? 
I'll go bail the scoundrel never came in Jerry Deasy's way from that 
day to this." 

Our space will not permit us to consider more fully the subject of Irish 
fairies. Some particulars concerning "The Banshee," however, will be found 
in our Tour to the North. At Killarney we have introduced the Tourist to 
other divisions of the race ; and in treating of Connamara we have given some 
notices of those that more especially appertain to the ocean and the sea-shore. 
The fearful character of the " Headless Horseman :" the charming creation 
of the "Thiehna na oge" (the land of perpetual youth), and the wily schemes 
of the Cleueicatjne, no longer allure or terrify the peasant as they used to 
do : but stories concerning them cannot fail to interest the Tourist, — and 
he may find in his journey ings a good raconteur of the old school. 



112 



POWERSCOURT AND THE DAEGLE 




EING then at Enniskerry, the Tourist will ascend a 
steep hill, on which the village is built, to visit both 
the Daegle and Poweescouet — the former to the 
left, the latter to the right, of the main road to Round- 
wood.* The demesne of Powerscourt contains 1,400 
acres ; the natural advantages of the locality have been 
heightened and improved by taste ; there are fewman- 
' ( f n 7 sions in Great Britain so auspiciously situated ; hill and 

dale, and wood and water, are so skilfully blended or divided ; and the whole is so 
completely inclosed by mountains, apparently " inaccessible to mortal feet," as 
to realise the picture of the " happy valley." The " waterfall"— distant between 
two and three miles from the house — is, perhaps, the most magnificent fall in 
the county of Wicklow ; it is nearly perpendicular, its entire height being, it 
is said, about 300 feet ; but it is only in winter, or in very wet seasons, that 
the water is precipitated the entire distance at a single bound, and then it seems 
an immense arch of foam. After heavy rains, it descends in one broad sheet 
unchecked and unbroken by a single rock; but in dry weather it more 
resembles a thin covering of white gauze, through which the interstices of the 
hill and its several breaks and crevices are distinctly visible. When fully 
charged, however, the rapidity and fury of the descent is almost incredible, 
accompanied by an absolute roar, amid which the sound of a trumpet would 
be scarcely audible at the distance of a yard. The cataract is formed by the 
Dargle (or Glenislorane) river, an obscure mountain stream until it reaches 
the precipice, part of the Douce mountain, from which it falls, making its way 
through the glen of the Dargle, and meeting the sea at Bray; having been 
united near "the Deer Park" gate with the river Glencree. 

"The Daegle" commences, as we have intimated, on the side opposite the 
gate to Powerscourt ; but more correctly speaking, the glen terminates here ; 

* There is a road to Roundwood through the whole of the demesne ; and as the public road is 
cheerless and uninteresting, the Tourist should pursue that — if he can. But it will be necessary 
for him to procure a written permission from the agent — otherwise he will find the gate at the 
extreme end closed against him. The family of Pedestrains, however, will have no difficulty in 
obtaining exit; and should undoubtedly take this course to Roundwood— first visiting the Dargle. 



THE DARGLE. 113 



the authorized entrance being through a gate-way at the opposite end — near 
the Bray road. Before treading the lonely path that leads through it, the Tourist 
will do well to visit a small hillock just over Tinahinch (the seat of James 
Grattan, Esq.*) ; and then to climb a steep hill that rises immediately above it, 
on the south. As the Dargle is, usually, the beauty of Wicklow first intro- 
duced to its visitors, and as, in consequence of its short distance from Dublin, 
many travellers examine no other portions of the county, the glen has attained 
to greater celebrity than others— more solemn, magnificent, and picturesque; 
yet, it may be a question whether, in variety, it is any where surpassed. 
The ravine is of great depth; the hills on either side clothed by gigantic 
trees and underwood, out of which, occasionally, protrude bare and rugged 
rocks ; the slopes are not precipitous, but may be easily ascended to the sum- 
mits, or descended to the river, natural seats being formed, here and there, by 
the moss-covered banks, upborne by huge trunks of mighty oaks. At times, 

* Tinahinch lies in a hollow, on the margin of the river; it is classic ground; for here one of 
Ireland's true patriots — a man who loved his country — composed, and, it is said, continually- 
recited, the eloquent speeches that have made his name immortal. The name of another great 
statesman is intimately associated with the County of Wicklow — the famous and unfortunate 
Lord Strafford. The great wood of Shilelagh, which covered the southern portion of the county, 
was much cut down hy that nohieman, who wrested it from the original proprietors, the 
O'Byrnes — hecause, "they were unable to produce any written titles to their lands" — when 
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Some of the oak he gave to roof St. Patrick's Cathedral. West- 
minster Hall was, it is said, roofed from the same source. Fynes Moryson alludes to " a 
commonly received opinion that the Irish wood transported for building is free of spiders and 
their webs." Near Tinehely are the ruins of a castle — the " cosha," so often alluded to by Lord 
Strafford in his letters; which the peasantry call "Black Thorn's building." The extensive 
forests of Shilelagh have dwindled to a few small plantations of oak. Mr. Hayes of Avondale, 
who published, in 1794, " A Practical Treatise on Planting," states : " It is generally understood 
that a sale was made of some of the finest timber of Shillelah, which remained in Charles the 
Second's time, into Holland, for the use of the Stadthouse, and other buildings constructed on 
piles driven close together, to the number of several thousand." After 1693, however, the woods 
must have been considerably destroyed, for in that year iron forges and furnaces were introduced 
into Wicklow, by a company who had the right to cut whatever suited their purpose during the 
term of their contract, which lasted twenty years. From a paper in the hand-writing of Thomas, 
Marquis of Rockingham, it appears that, in 1731, there were standing in that part of Shilelagh 
called the Deer Park 2,150 oak-trees: of these, in 1737, there remained 1,540. In 1780, 38 only of 
the old reserves were in existence. Their size may be estimated from this fact; the last which 
Mr. Hayes remembers, when felled, " produced, at three shillings per foot, £27 Is. 8d." In his 
time there remained one entire tree — " about ten feet round at five feet from the ground, straight 
as a pine for sixty feet ; and about six feet round at that height." He speaks, also, of a short 
trunk, which measured twenty-one feet round. The Earl Fitzwilliam, the descendant of the 
Earl of Strafford, now owns the district of Shilelagh, and has, besides, an immense property in 
the county of Wicklow. 



THE DATLGLE. 




IX THE DAEGLE. 



however, the sides 
are exceedingly 
steep, and in some 
instances perfect- 
ly barren; very of- 
ten they are com- 
pletely overhung 
by the branches 
of aged trees, im- 
pending directly 
over the current, 
and forming a na- 
tural bridge to 
connect the two 
sides. The thick 
foliage produces 
continual screens, 
so that the river, 



although heard, is often unseen 



" The fretful melody 
Of water, gargling through the rugged weir, 
Brought on the hreeze." 



But a step or two in advance, and its full glory meets the eye- 
over masses of granite, topped by its spray, raging and roaring onwards in a 
succession of falls, sometimes so narrow that a child might leap across, and 
anon widening out into a miniature lake. 

Nearly in the centre of the glen is a large crag, covered with herbage 
" the brightest of green," called " the Lover's Leap ;" it hangs over the torrent, 
and from this spot the best view of the valley is to be obtained* 

* About this "Lover's Leap" there are many legends; all of them, of course, beginning and 
ending alike. One of them records that a young man, deeply enamoured of a fair girl, who 
lived near the entrance to the Dargle, spent his happiest hours in her society there, following 
her as her shadow. Her most trivial wish was his law — for he believed himself beloved as fondly 
as he loved. One day she requested him to bring her some particular trifle from Dublin; 
begging, at the same time, he would not inconvenience himself by returning that night, but 
wait until the next day. Anxious to prove his devotion, the youth made no delay, but was back 
the same evening, just as the twilight was deepening into night. "Flying on the wings of love," 



THE DARGLE. 115 



Yet the glen of the Dargle, to be estimated justly, should be seen from one, 
or both, of the adjacent hills we have referred to. The first, which forms 
part of the demesne of Tinahinch, rises but a little above it, and is almost on 
a level with the topmost branches of the trees — near enough to the river for 
its subdued murmurs to fall with gentle harmony upon the ear. The view, 
although limited in extent, is of exceeding beauty. Before approaching the 
hill-brink, the windings of the glen may be traced by the foliage that seems to 
inclose and shelter the rapid current; drawing nearer, the several breaks 
become visible, with the waters rushing and foaming along. Prom the higher 
hill the prospect is infinitely more extensive ; immediately beneath us was the 
dark ravine — a line of trees, let in, as it were, between the mountains ; and 
these surrounded us on all sides but one — left open to the sea, where, 
beyond Bray-head, the island of Dalkey gladdened the bosom of old ocean. 
To our left was Powerscourt House : the waterfall was hidden from us by an 
intervening hill ; but the emerald sward and the brilliant foliage sparkled in the 
clear sun of a dry and most refreshing morning ; nearer, and almost buried in 

he sought the haunt of his mistress, and found her, sitting by the side of another — his rival. 
Instead of reproaching her for her rapid and cruel infidelity, he flung the bauble she had desired 

at her feet, and sprang, without a word, off" the rock. Another legend is more touching ; for 

this is an every-day story. A lady, quite as fickle as the other, formed a second attachment 
before, it would seem, the first was altogether obliterated. She was unconscious, however, of the 
misery her falsehood had effected, until, while singing a favourite song to her new lover, between 
each verse, as she paused, she heard the tolling of the church bell. This smote so upon her 
heart, that she could not continue, and at last inquired who was dead ; the reply brought back 
the memory of her first love with far more than its earliest fervour. That night she spent, 
heedless of the cold and rain, upon the grave of him who had died for her sake. It was in vain 
that her relatives entreated her to remain with them, and try to forget the past ; she would 
return to them in the morning, but invariably resume her lone seat before night-fall; she, who 
had been so false to the living, was faithful to the dead ; and all the wiles of the youth she had 
so gaily sung to, failed to win her from her resolve to die for him who had died for her. At length 
her mind wandered : with an air of unearthly triumph, she assured her sister that her true love 
had risen from the grave, and that she had walked with him along the headlands of the glen ; 
that he had promised to meet her again, and lead her to a spot where they should be united to 
part no more. This alarmed her family, and they placed her under mild restraint ; but, with the 
cunning of insanity, she eluded their vigilance, and escaped. A few minutes after her flight was 
discovered, her brother followed, as usual, to the churchyard, at which he arrived just in time to 
catch the last flutter of her scarf, as she flew rather than ran towards the Dargle ; he pursued, 
saw her pause for a moment upon the fatal brink, and then dart into the boiling abyss. The 
phantom created by her imagination doubtless led her to her death; but some will tell you that 
every Midsummer-eve her spirit soars along the headland, above the river, sometimes in the 
similitude of a dove, floating like a silver star through the night ; at other times in the shape of 
a white fawn, dashing fearlessly forward, and disappearing with the speed of an arrow in the 
leafy wood. 

t 9, 



116 TEE SUGAE-LOAF. 



a corner of the romantic dell, was Tinahinch — the smoke from the chimneys of 
which was curling " gracefully " up the rocks and through the underwood — 
the birch and furze, that adorned their sides — producing a singular effect ; for 
it seemed as if a vapour was issuing from the clefts. The quiet glory of the 
picture was heightened by the cheerful song of a thrush, from an adjoining- 
brake ; it followed us long after we commenced our return to the valley, as if 
repeating our expressions of exceeding delight, and seeking to give the 
delicious scene a stronger impress on our memory.* The prospect reached to 
the mountains above Dublin; and, in an opposite direction, "the Paps," and 
the " Sugar-loaf," looked down upon us, as if they were the guardians of the 
glen. Some idea of their character may be formed by the assistance of the 
Artist. The latter, with its peaked top, seemed to invite a visit ; and we paid 
it. But in our mode of ascending the " Sugar-loaf " we committed a serious 
error ; against the danger of which we warn our readers. While overlooking 
the Dargle from the mole heap — for in comparison to the giant mountain it is 
little more — and ignorant that we must ascend 2,000 feet above the valley, 
with the summit in our sight, and without a guide to direct us, we imagined 
the straightest line to be the shortest at least, if not the easiest, and so took 
the most rugged and most difficult path, achieving our purpose at length, but 
by a large sacrifice of time and labour. We commenced our progress on the 
northern side, before which there is a small hill, like an out-work ; after we 
had surmounted this, the goal of our ambition was not a whit nearer to us ; 
for between the lesser and the greater Sugar-loaf, there intervenes a deep 

* It is rather difficult to avoid perpetrating poetry among the hills and glens of Wicklow. 
During our ascent up one of the mountains we wrote the following lines — the introduction of 
which we trust our readers will not complain of, in a note. The words have heen honoured by 
an association with music worthy of better, by Mrs. Ames, of Liverpool. 

O, the mountain maid is the maid for me, 
Her step is light and her heart is free ; 

Light and free as the breeze that passes ; 
O, a rosy cheek and a rounded form, 
And a pulse that's neither too cold nor warm, 

Is the dowry they bring — these mountain lasses ! 

They have no jewels, they have no gold, 
But health and truth, and a spirit bold — 

Bold and true as their rocky masses ; 
As nature is kind, and pure, and free — 
So, children of nature, so are ye — 

Ye happy and merry mountain lasses ! 



THE SUGAR-LOAF. 



117 



valley, from which the sides of the latter rise "like walls;" down the one and 
up the other, we had to climb " with toilsome steps and slow,"until we arrived 
at the base of the conical hill that gives a name to the mountain* The 





THE SUGAR-LOAF. 



ascent of the Sugar-loaf is, however, comparatively easy if we keep the road to 
Roundwood, which entering Glencormac, by the ruins of Kilmacanogue church, 
winds round the west side, and leads the pedestrian to within a few hundred 
paces of the summit. The sides of this cone are covered with heath, which 
grows from a surface of peat of variable depth, huge masses of rock being 
scattered at intervals among it. Our way was lost ; and we were forced to 
follow, as guides, the gulleys or water-courses ; after a weary tramp, ankle- 
deep in bog, one of them conducted us to the summit. The top of the 
mountain, which, from a distance, appears so small and peaked, is a level space 
of several yards, sheltered on the west by a number of very large stones, the 

* The artist made his drawing "from the hill, after passing through Dalkey, on the my to 
Bray. It is a foot-way, which leads above the Bay of Dalkey Tsland ; and the foreground is 
the Sea. The foot-way leads round the mountains above 'the quarries,' and joins the main 
road— after a delicious walk of about three miles, from which picturesque views are very 
numerous." 



118 THE SUGAR-LOAF. 



remains probably of a Druidic temple. And here we had evidence of the 
number of currents and their different degrees of velocity at different heights. 
In the plain, we had scarcely felt a breeze ; but when near the summit, the 
wind grew boisterous even to annoyance ; and when we had reached the top it 
assumed almost the character of a hurricane. The day was clear ; and the 
prospect was indeed magnificent — the views being numerous, beautiful, and 
varied. To the north, beneath us, lay the Little Sugar-loaf, Charleville, 
Enniskerry, the Scalp ; further on, Cabinteely, Killiney, Dalkey Hills, Kingstown 
Harbour, Dublin Bay, Clontarf, Dollymount, Howth, and Lambay, and — but 
very indistinctly, although when the atmosphere is more than usually clear 
they can be seen perfectly — the outlines of the Carlingford and Mourne 
mountains. To the north-west, Powerscourt House, Glencree Yale, and 
barrack — on to the mountain that hangs over Lough Bray. To the south, as 
far as the eye can reach, hills upon hills, one rising above and beyond another 
like a succession of ocean-waves. To the south-west, Powerscourt waterfall, 
diminished by the distance, and looking like a broad silver band upon the dark 
mountain side ; the vale into which its waters rush, the superb back-ground 
being formed by the lofty and barren "Douce," rising nearly 2,400 feet above 
the level of the sea. To the south-east, the beautiful Glen of the Downs ; 
behind and beyond it, Delgany, and still further on, Wicklow-head. To the 
east the Irish Sea; to the north-east, Kilruddery, Bray, Bray-head, and Killiney 
Bay. Our brief catalogue of objects placed within our ken, as we stood 

" Upon the summit of that mountain hoar," 

will, we imagine, sufficiently tempt the bold and hardy pedestrian to encounter 
the labour of the ascent. It is needless to comment upon the wonderful magni- 
ficence of the scenery that will be on all sides presented to him * 

* In the bogs in this district have been found the horns of the Moose Deer, a gigantic animal, 
once abundant, but long since extinct, in Ireland. The complete skeleton of one, in the Royal 
Dublin Society, is of prodigious size; the horns measure from one tip to the other 11 feet 10 
inches : but horns have been found much larger — one no less than 16 feet from tip to tip; and 
a single horn has been discovered measuring upwards of 12 feet. Their history is involved in 
obscurity ; but there are circumstances whi:h indicate that they were co-existent with man. 



LTJGGELA.W. 



119 




E, again, return to tlie village of Enniskerry — where 
the Tourist, if he follow our steps, will find refreshment 
necessary — for the purpose of taking the road to Round- 
wood ; verging to the right, in order to visit Luggelaw.* 
^ A dreary and uninteresting road it is, running nearly 
all the way through an arid and unproductive common ; 
a few miserable hovels now and then skirting the way-side, with 
wretched patches of shrivelled potatoes, planted in bits of land the 
forcing of which into comparative cultivation can scarcely recompense 
the very extreme of poverty. 
When within about two miles of Eoundwood, a turn to the right 
leads for about three miles up the mountain — or, more correctly, up a long hill ; 
for on either side the winding road is looked down upon by the mountains that 




ENTRANCE TO LUGGELAW. 



* The only object worth pointing out to the traveller (on this road) is a rock, called " Walker's 
Rock," about two miles from Enniskerry — on the old road — from which there is another beauti- 
ful and extensive view; less grand but perhaps more interesting than that we have been 
describing; for the leading objects of attraction are closer, and more distinctly seen. The 
tourist should on no account pass this rock without ascending it. It overlooks the whole of the 
valley in which lie Powerscourt and the Dargle; and the waterfall is here seen to great advan- 
tage. The Sugar-loaf from this point resembles the peaked cap of the Covenanters. 



120 VALLEY OF CLOHOGUE. 



rise above it — the Douce oil the north and Ballenrush on the south. It leads 
to the great " lion " of the county — Luggelaw. It was early morning when we 
commenced the ascent ; the clouds were dense and heavy above and around us, 
and our view was limited to the huge masses of granite that skirted our path, 
scattered among the slopes to our right, and abundantly strewed among those 
to our left, that led into the valley, through which we heard the river rushing * 
Suddenly we paused, for the mists were vanishing : and, almost with the ra- 
pidity of thought, a most glorious and magnificent scene burst upon our sight; 
we beheld the whole of the beautiful vale : Lough Tay immediately below us, 
and, stretching to the south, the wild grandeur of Lough Dan, the two lakes 
being connected by a long stream of white — the broad river Anamoe in the 
valley of Clohogue, that runs between them — diminished, by the distance, 
almost to a thread. The annexed print will convey some — though but a 



-J^- - 




VALLEY OF CLOHOGUE. 

limited — idea of its character. Luggelaw, or Lough Tay, is a small dark 
lake, in the midst of perpendicular mountains — on one side utterly naked, 
on the other richly clad from the base to the summit with trees — fir and 
mountain-ash, thorn, oak, and elm — nourished to gigantic growths. Out of 
this gracefully covered hill proceed the thousand miniature cascades which 

* The descent into the valley is so steep as to render it absolutely necessary for the tourist to 
leave his carriage, and pace on foot the distance— a mile, perhaps — from the summit of the moun- 
tain to its hase; he will proceed slowly, however, for at every step his attention will be arrested 
by some new object of interest. At the entrance to the demesne of Mr. Latouche a shed has been 
erected to shelter the horses ; and the guide is usually in attendance here. 



LUGGELAW, OK, LOUGH TAT. 



121 



form the Lough; they come bubbling or trickling among rocks and huge 
roots, now and then concealed both from sight and hearing ; but anon forcing 
their way through tangled underwood, and forming, when their journey is 
nearly over, most deliciously clear and cool fountains. Nature has here received 
little check or training, but is left mainly to her " own sweet will." iVt one 
end of the lake is the pretty cottage-mansion of Mr. Latouche, and the " beach " 
that. adjoins it consists of pure white sand.* 




LUGGEIAW, OR LOUGH TAY. 

Hence we return to the main road, and journey to the small town of Round- 
wood ; but the pedestrian will seek it by a pleasanter route ; walking four miles, 

* Let no one visit Luggelaw without striving to make the acquaintance of " Charley Carr," the 
guide whose cottage is at the entrance to the domain. Charley is, of course, jealous for the 
honour and glory of Luggelaw ; and very envious of the superior attractions of Glendalough— 
which he abuses with right good will, affirming that it is unnatural not to love Nature better 
than ould stones and mortar; and at times he cannot conceal his anger with the holy saint — 
Saint Kevin— for not having carried out his original intention to build his churches around 
Lough Tay; tradition says, indeed, and Charley Carr supports the opinion, that the saint had 
actually laid the foundation of his Round Tower here— when Kathleen discovered his retreat, 
followed him, and her fair face was a " notice to quit." 



122 TOGHER, OR ROUNDWOOD. 



crossing Lough Dan in a boat, always at hand for the purpose, and passing 
through one of the wildest of wild districts* If he be " a brother of the 
angle/' 5 he will have an additional inducement to this course ; for the ferry- 
man throws a fly, and carries his tackle with him ; and Charley Carr is 
unrivalled as an auxiliary on such occasions, being 

" As skilful in that art as any.'' 

The village of Togher, or Roundwood, is small and unimportant; it is, 
however, situated in the midst of mountains, and the neighbouring scenery 
is remarkably grand. As it lies in the road to Glendalough, by this route, and 
is usually the resting-place of tourists to the Seven Churches, it is much 
frequented ; more especially as the river Vartrey, which runs by it, is famous 
for an abundance of fine trout.f 

From Roundwood, passing the church of Derrylossery, we reach the village 
of Anamoe, where a bridge crosses a river of the same name, which flows from 
Lough Dan. The village consists of a few thatched houses ; but its situation 
is highly picturesque ; and in its immediate vicinity there still exists a ruined 
water-mill, memorable for an incident in the life of Laurence Sterne.J 

* Among these mountains, during the year 1798, the rebel general, Holt, collected and retained 
a force well armed, and with some discipline, which proved exceedingly troublesome to the troops 
quartered in the neighbourhood, and very injurious to the resident gentry. He was a respectable 
farmer and a Protestant, who resided in the immediate vicinity of Roundwood. He contrived to 
keep his guerillas together for several months after "the troubles" had terminated elsewhere, 
the peculiar nature of the country being favourable to his plans, the people being universally 
friendly to him, and every hill and valley furnishing some place of secrecy and security — at least 
for a time. A price was set upon his head; his every motion was tracked by spies; yet he 
managed to escape, surrendering in the end to Lord Powerscourt, and bargaining with the 
government for a sentence of transportation for life His history is singular and striking ; he 
was a man of courage and enterprise, and of sagacity and prudence very rare in those days. He 
executed some very brilliant movements; and on several occasions destroyed parties of the 
King's troops. In the year 1S13, having received a free pardon from tbe governor of New South 
Wales, he returned to his native country, for some time kept a public-house in Dublin, and died 
in May 1826, aged 70 years. 

t The village is twenty-three miles from Dublin. There are two good inns at Roundwood — 
both of them being convenient and comfortable. 

J In a brief autobiography prefixed to his Letters, he thus alludes to the circumstance — 'We 
lived in the barracks at Wicklow one year (1720) ; from thence we decamped, to stay half a year 
with Mr. Featherston, a clergyman, about seven miles from Wicklow, who, being a relative of my 
mother's, invited us to his parsonage at Animo. It was in this parish, during our stay, that I 
had that wonderful escape in falling through a mill-race whilst the mill was going, and of being 
taken up unhurt. The story is incredible, but known for truth in all that part of Ireland ; where 
hundreds of the common people flocked to see me." 



SEVEN CHURCHES OF GLENDALOUGH. 



123 




AS SING the deserted, and half-ruined, barrack of Laragh — 
built in the midst of an arid common with which its broken 
walls and desolate aspect are in keeping — we cross a small 
but picturesque bridge, and enter a narrow road that leads, 
between hills, to the " dark valley," in which are the long- 
famed and far-famed ruins of the "seven churches of 
Glendalough;" to quote an expression of Sir Walter Scott, "the 
inexpressibly singular scene of Irish antiquities."* The Round 
Tower first takes the eye ; and, as we advance, one after another, the 
several points of interest come in sight. It is impossible to imagine 
aught in Nature more awfully grand than the lake, — 

" Whose gloomy shore 
Skylark never warbles o'er," — 

in the midst of mountains that surround it on all sides, except the east — in 
some parts bare of verdure to the summit, or covered with huge stones, among 
which revel the descending rivulets ; in others clothed with brown heath or the 
sable peat; in others, a series of jutting crags between the interstices of which 
the grass grows luxuriantly, where the sheep and goat feed fearlessly secure, but 
where human foot has never trod ; in others, perpendicular precipices from the 
base almost to the top, where the eagle makes his eyrie far away from the 
haunts of man; and in others, chequered into cultivated patches, forced, by 
persevering industry, from the unwilling, and still unyielding, soil. 

" Wildest of all the savage glens that lie 
In far sierras, hiding their deep springs, 
And traversed but by storms, or sounding eagle's wings." 

Except along the borders of the Lower Lake, and on the heights that divide 

* Glendalough is situated in the barony of Ballynacor, twenty-three miles (by the direct 
road) from Dublin, and five from Roundwood; where a car is generally hired by tourists, who 
usually return to Roundwood to pass the night ; for a visit to the holy lake and ruined city, 
although they may be examined in a couple of hours, ought to occupy a day. For those who are 
not over particular about creature-comforts, however, there is a tolerable inn at Glendalough, with 
very decent rooms and beds, and accommodation for horses. We recommend, therefore, the 
passing a night at the inn at Glendalough — especially as the scene is infinitely more impressive 
in the twilight than at morning or mid-day. But those who pay it an evening visit should 
beware of the guides, who completely mar the solemn harmony of the surrounding objects : 
remunerating the crowd of men, women, and children, to keep carefully out of sight and 
hearing, rather than for their "company;" and retaining their services for the next day, when 
the repose of thought may be less desirable. 



124 



GLENDALOUGH. 



the mountains of Lugduff and Derrybawn, not a tree is to be seen, and scarcely 
a shrub large enough to shelter a lamb ; nothing indeed to humanize its utter 
loneliness ; it is hard to fancy that a few centuries ago the now barren district 
was a huge forest — a den for wolves and a nest for outlaws— or that, almost in 
our own day, the lesser hills were covered with foliage.* 

" But here, above, around, below, 
On mountain or in glen, 
Nor tree, nor shrub, nor plant, nor flower, 
Nor aught of vegetative power, 

The weary eye may ken ; 
For all is rocks at random thrown, 
Black waves, bare crags, and banks of stone." 




RUINS OF " THE MONASTERY. 

But the absence of trees is felt as an evil far less at Glendalough than 
elsewhere ; to naked grandeur it is mainly indebted for fame ; the shadows 

* Mr. Hayes, in his "Treatise on Planting," (1794,) draws a melancholy picture of the folly 
and cupidity of those who have bared this romantic district. " I am sorry to state that I have 
been eye-witness to the fall of nearly two hundred acres of beautiful and well-growing oak, in a 
romantic valley, on the See lands of Glendallogh, three times within the space of twenty-four 
years. The produce of each sale, to the several archbishops, never exceeded 100/.; and as I 
am informed, it amounted once only to 501., or five shillings per acre, for a coppice, which, had 
it been preserved for the same number of years, though not containing a single reserve of a 
former growth, would have produced 30/. per acre, or 6,000/. in place of 50/." 



GLENDALOUGH. 125 



that fall upon the Lake, from the bare mountains which, so completely environ 
it, giving a character of peculiar gloom — in solemn and impressive harmony 
with the ruins of remote ages ; — churches unroofed and crumbling ; oratories 
levelled to the height of humble graves ; sculptured crosses shattered into 
fragments; broken pillars, corbels, and mouldings, of rare workmanship; 
gorgeous tombs of prelates and princes confused with the coarse headstones of 
the peasants ; and the mysterious Round tower — comparatively untouched by 
the Destroyer — standing high above them all ! In contemplating these worn- 
down, and subdued, relics of ancient power, 

" A weight of awe, not easy to be borne, 
Fell suddenly upon our spirit— cast 
From the dread bosom of the unknown past." 

We are first introduced to the ruins, within about a mile of " the city," on 
the road from Laragh bridge, but on the opposite side of the river ; the remains 
are those of a church, which the peasantry call the " Monastery," but to which 
Ledwich refers as " the Priory oe St. Saviour," and which is so marked in the 
Ordnance map. It seems to have escaped the notice of travellers, although, 
beyond doubt, the most elaborately finished of the structures ; two of its round 
pillars still endure in a good state, one of them being nearly perfect, and con- 
taining several sculptured ornaments ; — that which originated the legend of the 
"dog and serpent" being very prominent. The ruin is overgrown with 
brambles, and a flourishing mountain-ash has forced its way through a crevice 
of the wall. The remains of another church — "the Trinity"— are also to be 
inspected before entering " the city." 

The " City of Glendalough ," a name which signifies " the glen of the two 
lakes," owes its origin to St. Kevin, by whom the abbey was founded early in 
the sixth century, and where he is believed to have died on the 3d of June, 
a.d. 619, on the anniversary of which the " pattern" (patron) is still held. 

Here, in this solitude, the saint laid the foundation of his monastic establish- 
ment ; it grew rapidly— became a crowded city, a school for learning, a college 
for religion, a receptacle for holy men, a sanctuary for the oppressed, an 
asylum for the poor, a hospital for the sick*— and here he lived to superintend 

* The virtues and sanctity of the holy man drew, .according to the author of the " Monasticon 
Hibernicum," multitudes from towns and cities, from ease and affluence, from the cares and 
avocations of civil life, and from the comforts and joys of society, to be spectators of his pious 



126 GLENDALOUGH. 



it for nearly a century, having according to Usslier " completed the uncommon 
and venerable age of one hundred and twenty years," before he was, in the 
language of the Ritual, "born to the blessings of another state." The city is 
now desolate — the voice of prayer, except when some wearied peasant is laid 
beneath the turf, is never heard within its precincts — year after year the ruins 
fall nearer to the earth, the relics of its grandeur are trodden under foot, and 
another generation may search even for their foundations in vain. It is im- 
possible to look upon the scene without "waking some thoughts divine," 
receiving a lesson upon the mutability of the works of man, and feeling as if a 
fearful prophecy had been fulfilled ; — 

" The taper shall be quench'd, the belfries mute, 
And, mid their choirs unroof d by selfish rage, 
The warbling wren shall rind a leafy cage ; 
The gadding bramble hang her purple fruit; 
And the green lizard and the gilded newt 
Lead unmolested lives, and die of age." 

The ruins are stated by "the authorities" to consist of the Priory, the 
Cathedral, St. Kevin's kitchen, " Teampull-na-skellig," Our Lady's church, the 
Rhefeart church, and the Ivy church, making the mystical number of seven ; 
the other sacred edifices "appearing to be later constructions."* 

acts, and sharers in his merits ; and, with him, to encounter every severity of climate and 
condition. " This influence extended even to Britain, and induced St. Mochuorog to convey 
himself hither, who fixed his residence in a cell on the east side of Glendalough, where a city 
soon sprung up, and a seminary was founded, from whence were sent forth many saints and 
exemplary men, whose sanctity and learning diffused around the Western world that universal 
light of letters and religion, which, in the earlier ages, shone so resplendent throughout this 
remote and at that time tranquil isle, and were almost exclusively confined to it." The See of 
Glendalough was united with that of Dublin in the reign of King John ; but the mandate of the 
sovereign was disputed by the O'Tooles, in whose territory it stood ; and although the territories 
were estranged, they continued to fill the See for a long period afterwards — the last of the nominal 
prelates, Friar Dennis White, surrendering the possession in 1497. Long before that period, 
b owe ver, the city had vastly declined in importance; having become— we quote from Ware — 
" waste and desolate, a den and nest for thieves and robbers ; so that more murders are committed 
in that valley than in any other place in Ireland, occasioned by the vast desert solitude thereof." 
" From what can now be discovered of the ancient city," writes Dr. Ledwich, " by its walls above, 
and foundations below the surface of the earth, it probably extended from the Rhefeart church 
to the Ivy church, on both sides of the river. The only street appearing, is the road leading 
from the market place into the county of Kildare; it is in good preservation, being paved with 
stones placed edgewise, and ten feet in breadth." These stones have now all vanished — at least 
we looked for them in vain ; except adjacent to the entrance. 
* Upon this subject we quote Dr. Ledwich. " The number seven was mystical and sacred, 



GLENDALOUGH. 127 



We had scarcely arrived within sight of the "holy ground," — our minds 
sobered by observing its solemn grandeur, and prompted almost " to take the 
shoes from off our feet" — when our car was surrounded by a most vociferous 
group, of all ages and sizes, each eagerly laying claim to " the honour and 
glory" of being our Guide.* A brief scrutiny and a short examination ended 
in our retaining the services of George Wynder,! a wild and picturesque- 
looking fellow, with loose drapery and a long beard, and whom we at once ascer- 

and early consecrated to religion. It began with the creation of the world, and all the Jewish rites 
were accommodated to it. It is found among the Brachmans and Egyptians. The Greek fathers 
extol its power and efficacy, and the Latin, as usual, apply it to superstitious purposes. The church 
formed various septenaries. The following is extracted from Archbishop Peckham's Constitutions, 
made at Lambeth, a.d. 1281 : — ' The Most High hath created a medicine for the body of man, 
reposited in seven vessels, that is, the seven sacraments of the church. There are seven articles 
of faith belonging to the mystery of the Trinity; seven articles belonging to Christ's humanity. 
There are seven commandments respecting man; seven capital sins; and seven principal 
virtues.' The Irish entertained a similar veneration for this number; witness the seven churches 
at Glendaloeh, Clonmacnois, Inniscathy, Inch Derrin, Inniskealtra, and the seven altars at 
Clonfert and Holy Cross." This superstitious veneration for the number still maintains its 
influence over the minds of the peasantry. The affection certain nations have to particular 
numbers is remarkable. In England, three is the favourite; in India, four; in China, three 
times three : but seven appears to be the most universal, and has a wonderful propriety, when 
regarded in a sacred or superstitious point of view, for it neither begets nor is begotten by any 
number within the ten. It has therefore been compared to the Ruler and Governor of all things, 
who neither moves nor is moved. In the Roman Catholic ritual, we have the seven sacraments, 
the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, the seven capital sins, the seven corporal works of mercy, the 
seven spiritual works of mercy, &c. 

* At Glendalough guides of all degrees start from beneath the bushes, and from amid the crags 
— we had almost written, from out the lake — and "they will do anything in the wide world to 
serve and obleege yer honours," except leave you to yourselves. — " Is it let the likes of you alone, 
plase yer honour?" said a razor-faced youth. " Be the dads ! we've better manners than that any- 
how, to lave the quality alone by themselves in such a lonesome place ; and sure the lady won't 
forget the daAvshy dancing sixpence among us, just as a compliment for our company ! " If you 
get angry with them, their civility increases, and the end of it is, that you submit with the air 
of a martyr, while Kathleen and the selected guide, seeing that you are really in earnest and 
wish to be alone, keep the mob at a distance, who then follow in the wake. Our only astonish- 
ment, on such occasions, is that such crowds are so well-behaved. Luxury and wealth are con- 
tinually before them, while neither their work nor their solicitations can procure them the com- 
monest necessaries of life. And yet how honest they are ! They carry your cloaks, umbrellas, 
books, and you never lose anything: they are not unkind to each other either, and will frequently 
bless the trifle you bestow on others. — " Well, God bless you, we want it bad enough ourselves, 
but she wanted it as bad ; God help the widow and the fatherless ! " 

t The mantle of Joe Irwin — very celebrated in his day — has fallen upon the shoulders of 
George Wynder. Joe, in his turn, had received it from Darby Gallaher, who was guide before 
him, beyond man's memory, and died "laving all his knowledge to Joe, when he, the said Darby, 
was 107 years ould and better." Joe's great recommendation — which he never failed to urge — 
was, that he was " the man that was down in the book." In this respect also (as no doubt 
many visitors will find) the guide of to-day imitates the guide of yesterday. 



12S 



THE GUIDE AT GLEKDALOTJGH. 



tained to be "■ a wit ;" fcr 
on our asking him Low he 
could accompany us with 
bare feet, he replied, 
" Ah ! these are the soles 
that never wear out, and 
one set of nails lasts for a 
life." A further inquiry 
as to whether they were 
his Sunday shoes, led to 
the answer, "Be dad, 
they're the shoes I wear 
every day." So we en- 
gaged him ; and a capital 
companion he was, and 
is ; for he has infinite 
humour, an exhaustless 
store of stories, is a poet 
in his way, and although 
he makes it his boast — 
but not openly — that 
he "can coin laagends 
enough over - night to 
entertain the quality all 
day," he " lies like 
truth;" and his marvels 
are about as natural and rational as those of the learned historian, Giraldus 
Cambrensis. As second in command, we commissioned James Brough, 
an infinitely more sober and sedate personage, who will do very well when 
Wynder is away; for he has contrived to pick up most of his "laagends," 
and is cherishing the growth of his locks in humble imitation of his superior. 
We set out on our voyage of discovery, "guided" by these two, but with a 
concourse of "followers;" for as there chanced to be no other visitors on that 
day, they could lose nothing by becoming volunteers ; each and all had some- 
thing to exhibit — a "bit of mine," or a splinter of the yew-tree that St. Kevin 




THE GUIDE AT GLENDALOUGH. 



st. Kevin's kitchen. 



129 



planted with his own hands,* a sure preservative from fire and shipwreck, and 
of inestimable value to ladies "who love their lords." 

We were first conducted over a bridge of planks, laid upon gigantic 
" pebbles," that crosses the Avonmore, the beautiful river whose source is in 
this lake, and which running, or rather rushing, through " a fair country as eye 
can look upon," meets " the waters " in the vale of Avoca, and joins the sea at 
Arklow. The entrance to the city is through two Saxon arches, kept together 




ST. KEVIN S KITCHEN 



by the embraces of ivy — up a steep and narrow paved pathway — a wall at 
either side, enclosing the whole of the area in which the chief ruins are con- 
tained. We were led at once to " St. Kevin's Kitchen " (its ancient name is 
lost), — the most perfect of the churches, — with its stone roof, and its steeple, 
a round tower, in miniature, the conical cap being uninjured ; near it is the 
great round tower, — with the unusual number of seven windows, its height 
being one hundred and ten feet ; the cap fell to the ground in the year 1804. 
The cathedral, the abbey or the church of St. Peter and Paul, our Lady's 
chapel, and the Ivy church, are also within this enclosure. 

* The long-famed yew-tree — which tradition states, and probably with truth, to have been 
planted by St. Kevin 12C0 years ago — has been exhausted by "curiosity seekers." 



130 



GLEKDALOTJGE. 



Before we proceed farther through this interesting "City," in order that the 
reader may have a more accurate idea of the congregated ruins, we have copied 




i. 
ii. 

in. 

IV. 

V. 
VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

X1P. 

XV. 



St. Kevin's Bed. 
Grave Yard. 
Stone Crosses. 
Lower Lake. 
Stepping Stones. 
Deer Stone. 
St. Kevin's Yew-tree. 
Our Lady's Church. 
Cathedral. 
St. Kevin's Kitchen. 
Market Cross. 
Ruins of Trinity Church 
St. Kevin's Well. 
Road from Lamgh, 
Sepulchre. 



MAP OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES. 



GLENDALOUGH. 



131 



for his guidance and information part of the map of the Ordnance Survey; we 
have not reduced the scale, which is six inches to one statute mile. 




MAP OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES 

k2 



132 



our lady's church. 



The churches of Hhefeart and Teampull-na-skellig are at some distance on the 
borders of the Upper Lake .* With the exception of the kitchen, "Decay's defacing 
fingers " have been very busy with them ; traces of their architectural beauty are 
nearly all lost; that of Rhefeart is a heap of stones, and that of Teampull-na-skellig 

can scarcely be distinguished 
from the rocks that surround 
it. The entrance to "Our 
Lady's church" is composed 
of stones of immense size. 
11 The door," writes Mr. Arch- 
dall, "consists of only three 
courses; the lintell is four 
feet six inches in length, and 
fourteen inches and a half in 
depth. The door is six feet 
four in height, two feet six in 
width at top, and two feet ten 
at bottom. A kind of archi- 
trave is worked round the 
door, six inches broad; and 
in the bottom of the lintel an 
ornament is wrought in a 
cross, resembling the flyer of 
a stamping-press. The walls 
are carried up with hewn 
our lady's church. stone, in general of a large 

size, to about the height of the door, and the remainder are of the rude moun- 




* The river Avonmore is joined in this neighbourhood at the east by the Glendasan river, which 
flows previously through the vale of Glendasan, having its source in Lough Nahanagan : a river 
from LugdufFalso supplies the lower lake. The Avonmore, before it passes through Glendalo ugh, 
is called the River Glenealo. Its fall into the lake is highly picturesque. Among the super- 
stitions of the churchyard, is one common to other places, — that any person buried here will be 
inevitably saved at the day of judgment; Saint Kevin having prayed that this privilege might 
be accorded to his favourite church. We were shown here the base of a cross, weight about 
3 cwt. ; those who contrive to carry it between their teeth thrice round the ground without 
pausing to take breath, will never afterwards have the toothache— one of Mr. Wynder's stories 
to which we may, at least, attach credit. 



STONE CROSS. 



133 



tain rag-stone, but laid incomparably well." In the churchyard there are none 
of the finely-sculptured crosses such as ifyjMil 

we have met with elsewhere ; that of 
which we preserve a copy is the only 
one of magnitude, and entirely without 
ornament, although the broken frag- 
ments of several smaller ones are scat- 
tered about, as head-stones to the 
graves. 

Our next duty was to visit the fa- 
mous " Bed " of St. Kevin ; it is on 
the south side of the lake, and, as it is 
far more easy to climb up, than down, 
to it, a boat is always at hand to convey 
the curious to this especial object of 
curiosity. When comfortably seated 
and the boatman had taken the oars, 
we had leisure, and certainly inclina- 
tion, to listen to the " laagends " of 
our guide Wynder. Some of the most original of them, as well as a few that 
are to be found in " veritable histories," we preserve for our readers. First 
was the story told by Cambrensis to illustrate the piety and humanity of the 
saint :— how, " when he retired to keep the forty days of Lent in fasting, 
meditation, and prayer, as he held his hand out of the window, a blackbird came 
and laid her four eggs in it ; and the saint, pitying the bird and unwilling to 
disturb her, never drew in his hand, but kept it stretched out, until she brought 
forth her young and they were fully fledged, and flew off with a chirping 
quartette of thanks to the holy man, for his convayniance." Next, how " the 
stone— called the Deer Stone " — (he had previously pointed it out to us adjacent 
to " the Kitchen") — " was turned into a dairy by the saint. A poor widow-man 
was left with a baby ; and what to do with it, he didn't know in the wide 
world ; so he went to his holiness, and his holiness says, says he, ' Did ye 
never hear tell of the lilies of the field/ says he, ' and who clothes them ? 
Come to this stone, my good man, every morning after airly mass,' says he, 
■ and I'll go bail ye'll get a drop for the babby ; ' and sure enongh at day- 




STONE CROSS. 



134 



THE DEER'S STONE. 




THE PEEK'S STONE. 



break the poor fellow saw a deer come, and lave a quart o' new milk in the 
stone, and that fed the cratur till he grew big enough and learned enough to 
be the saint's coadjutor; but the stone is there to spake to the miracle this 

day." (And here, good 
reader, is a copy of it, 
to put the fact beyond 
dispute.) How " one 
day in spring, before 
the blossoms were on 
the trees, a young 
man, grievously afflict- 
ed with the falling 
sickness, fancied that 
an apple would cure 
him ; and the dickons 
an apple-tree, at all at 
all, was about the place ; but what mattered that to the saint ! he ordhered a 
score of fine yellow pippins to grow upon a willow ; and the boy gathered, 
and ate, and was cured." * How " the saint was one day going up Derrybawn, 
and he meets a woman that carried five loaves in her apron. ' What have ye 
there, good woman ? ' says the saint. ' I have five stones,' says she. ' If they 
are stones,' says he, 'I pray that they may be bread; and if they are bread,' 
says lie, ' I pray that they may be stones ! ' So, with that the woman lets 'em 
fall ; and sure enough stones they were, and are to this day."f How " a 
vagabone from Connaught stole the saint's mare and her fole, and the saint 
overtuck him and shtruck him dead upon the spot, wid a look he gav him ; 
and immediately he ris a cross in the place as a warning to all marrauders ; and 

* A version of this story is quoted by Dr. Ledwich, from " an Icelandic MS. ; " which adds, 
that "the tree seemed to rejoice in this gift of God, and bears every year a fruit like an apple, 
which from that time have been called St. Kevin's apples, and are carried over all Ireland, that 
those labouring under any disease may eat them; and it is notorious, from various relations, that 
they are the most wholesome medicine against all disorders to which mankind are liable : and it 
must be observed, that it is not so much for the sweetness of their flavour, as their efficacy in 
medicine, for which they are esteemed, and for which they are sought." 

t Ledwich says, " these stones were kept as sacred reliques for many years in the Rhefeart 
church, but are now in the valley, at a considerable distance from it ; they weigh about twenty- 
eight pounds each, are shaped like loaves, with the marks of their juncture in the oven." They 
are still to be seen. 



THE MARE S CROSS. 



135 




THE MARES CROSS. 



the cross stands there now, with the marks of the mare's feet on the one 

side, and the fole's ^ 

feet on the other ! " * 
(And so it does, for 
here is a copy of it.) 
How " the saint ban- 
ished the larks ; not, 
as the foolish imagine, 
because they disturb- 
ed his orisons, but 
because the workmen 
who built his churches 
' struck, 5 complaining 
that the larks woke 
them too airly; so 
says the saint, 'Do yer duty for this day,' says he, 'and they shall trouble you 
no more;' and ever since no lark floats above the holy waters." 

Of other " haros " besides Saint Kevin, our guide had a store of tales. Of 
Fin Mac Cool's Cut — a singular gap in the mountain — he told us that "Pin 
one day met a countryman, and axed what news of the battle. ' Bad,' says 
he; 'we're bet into smithereens,' ' Och ! murder,' says Fin, 'why wasn't 
I there ! I'll show ye what I'd have done ; ' so he makes a blow with his 
soord, and cut a piece out of the hill. We call it the jiaunt's cut ; himself 
and another jiaunt used to shake hands across the lake." Of course, the 
" laagends " of King O'Toole are many and various ; we have space but for 

* The following is Mr. Otway's version of this story, as told by Joe Irwin. " This, sir," said 
he, " is the tomb of Garadh DufF, or Black and Yellow, the horse-stealer, whom St. Kevin killed 
for telling him a lie. It happened as follows : Black and Yellow one day was coming over the 
ford, there above, not far from Lough-na-peche, riding a fine black mare with a foal at her foot ; 
and meeting the saint, blessed Kevin asked him, ' Where, Garadh, did you get that fine baste? ' 
' Oh, I bought her from one of the Byrnes.' ' That's a lie, I know by your face, you thief.' ' Oh, 
by all the books in Rome,' says Garadh, 'what I say is true.' ' Dare you tell me so — now, in 
order to make a liar and a thief and a holy show of you to the world's end, — I'll fix your foal and 
mare, there in that rock, and the print of their hoofs shall remain for ever, and you yourself 
must die and go to purgatory.' ' Well, if I must die,' says the thief, ' plase me, holy father, in 
one thing, bury me in your own churchyard, and lave a hole in my tombstone, so that if any 
stray horse or cow should pass by, I may just push up my arm and make a snap at their leg, if 
it was nothing else but to mind me of my humour, and that I may keep my temper during the 
long day of the grave." 



136 O'TOOLE AND ST. KEVIN. 



one : how " tlie saint managed to get from the king a grant of the land 
upon which he built his churches. The king was ould and wake in himself, 
and took a mighty liking to a goose, a live goose ; and in coorse o' time the 
goose was like the master, ould and wake. So O'Toole sent for his holiness ; 
and his holiness went to see what would the Pagan— for King O'Toole was a 
hathen — want wid him. ' God save ye,' says the saint. ' God save ye kindly,' 
says the king. ' A better answer than I expected,' says the saint. ' Will ye 
make my goose young ? ' says the king. 'What'll ye gi' me ? ' says the saint. 
* What'll ye ax ? ' says the king. ' All I'll ax will be as much of the valley as 
he'll fly over,' says the saint. ' Done,' says the king. So wid that Saint Kevin 
stoops down, takes up the goose, and flings him up, and away he goes over the 
lake and all round the glin ; which in coorse was the saint's hereditary property 
from that day out." How " the saint got rid o' the last of the sarpints : Ye 
see, yer honours, he was the ould sarpint that was 'cute enough to bother 
St. Patrick, when he druv out of Ireland the whole of his seed, breed, and 
generation. My gentleman walks off to Loch-na-Peche ; and soon after St. 
Kevin comes to make his bed and build his churches ; and the sarpint couldn't 
forget his ould tricks, having a dale o' spite agin the clargy. And the saint 
was, in coorse, intirely bothered, when, as fast as he ris the tower, down it 
came agin ; so he set his dog Lupus to watch, and the dog brought him word 
that his innemy was curled up in the sinter of the loch, all day ; but when his 
reverence went to bed, mee blackguard comes out, and does the world and all 
o' mischief. ' Och ! what'll I do ! ' says the saint ; ' is it to be nonplushed by a 
thief like this, that I'm after sleeping in a hole,' says he, c and giving up the 
best o' good living,' says he, ' to say nothing of the ladies,' says he. Well, yer 
honours, the saint was onlyasoggarth (young priest) in thim times; and, in coorse, 
his prayers hadn't the strength they had afterwards ; and all he could get by them 
was, that if he'd walk to the top of Kamaderry before the dew was off the 
grass, he'd see something. Now Kamaderry was a grate wood in them days, 
and it wasn't asy travelling. But the saint wasn't to be daunted ; so he axes 
a lark to wake him (for this was before he made 'em quit the place), and he 
puts on his new ponticalibeys, and away wid him up the hill. Well, when he 
gets to the top, what would he hear but the sarpint snoring ! and the saint 
was mighty unasy, till Lupus wint up to him and ' Whisper, yer rev'rence,' 
says the dog ; and the baste told him a sacret, and slips something into his 



ST. KEVIN AND THE SARPIKT. 137 

hand. ' Bathershin,' says the saint, ' I understand,' says he. So wid that he 
takes out his braviary, and sthreels along, pertending to be at his matins ; but 
he had one eye off the book watching. ' Good morrow, Saint Kevin, 5 says the 
sarpint. ' Good morrow, kindly, sir,' says the saint. ' You're up airly, I'm 
thinking, yer rev'rence,' says the sarpint. ' But faiks, you're afoot before me,' 
says the saint. ' The pleasure of your company for a walk would be agreeable, 
Saint Kevin,' says the sarpint. ' Wid all the pleasure in life,' says the saint. 
So the two went sthreeling, arm in arm, through the wood ; but when they 
came to the end of it, what would they see but a grate hair trunk ! ' What's 
that? ' says the sarpint. 'Bad luck to the bit o' me knows ! ' says the saint. 
1 I'm thinking it's a trunk,' says the sarpint. ' So it is,' says the saint ; ' and I 
never see a bigger.' 'Och! then many's the bigger one I've seen,' says the 
sarpint, ' in Bully's acre ; and that's in the city Develin,' says he. Develin, ye 
see, was the ould ancient name o' Dublin. ' Pho,' says he, in con-tinuation, 
' it isn't big enough to hould me.' * Och ! honour bright,' says the saint ; ' it 'ud 
hould two o' the likes o' ye.' ' I'll bet ye a gallon o' sperits it won't,' says the 
sarpint. ' Done,' says the saint ; and ' Done/ says the sarpint. So wid that the 
omathawn crawls into the trunk, laving the ind of his tail outside. ' And now 
ye see, St. Kevin,' says lie, ' it isn't big enough to hould me ; and so I've won 
the wager.' ' Let me have occular da-monstration,' says the saint. So, like a 
flash o' lightning, he slaps down the cover ; the sarpint pulls in his tail — not 
to have it cut olf ; the saint takes the kay out of his pocket, and locks my gay 
fellow up, in a jiffy. 'I have ye now, Mister Sarpint,' says he, "cute as ye 
think yerself.' M own myself bet,' says the sarpint; 'let me out, Saint 
Kevin,' says he, ' and I'll pay ye yer gallon like a gentleman,' says he. Oh ! 
yah ! the holy man wasn't to be done that way ; so he tuck the trunk upon his 
showlders, and carried it all the way to Croagh Phadrig, and threw it off the 
top of a big hill into the say. And every now and agin, when the winds are 
roaring and the waves lashing along the shore— that's the sarpint twisting and 
twirling his tail round about in the trunk, and screaching out, betwixt the 
pauses of the storm, ' Let me out, St. Kevin, and I'll pay ye yer gallon o' 
sperits like a gentleman.' And so, yer honours, that was the way Saint Kevin 
got rid o' the last o' the sarpints." * 

* The ordinary reading of this legend is, that St. Kevin employed his dog Lupus to kill the 
serpent ; in commemoration of which feat, under the east window of the tower he fixed a stone, 



138 THE SAINT AND KATHLEEN. 

But all the legends of Glendalough sink into insignificance compared to that 
which the genius of Moore has immortalised — the legend of the Saint and 
Kathleen ! When the saint was young and beautiful — our guide is the autho- 
rity for fixing the event, in the twentieth year of his age — he retired to this 
solitude, and manifested a singular taste, for so young a man, by selecting, as 
his bed, a hollow in the rock, scooped — we again trust to Mr. Wynder — with 
no other chisel than his nails. He was striving to hide himself from the eyes 
of Kathleen, " eyes of most unholy blue ; " and so — 

" Where the cliff hangs high and steep, 
Young Saint Kevin stole to sleep ; 
' Here, at least,' he calmly said, 
1 Woman ne'er shall find my hed.' " 

Yet the saint was mistaken ; for when the lark, not yet banished, roused him 
from his bed, what should he see but Kathleen bending over him ! The angry 
saint, according to Mr. Wynder, " put his two feet agin her breast, and kicked 
her into the lake." But if we may credit the Poet — 

" Ah ! your saints hare cruel hearts ! 
Sternly from his hed he starts, 
And, with rude repulsive shock, 
Hurls her from the beetling rock.' 

Both authorities, however, agree that the saint "drownded" the lady — a 
wicked deed, for which the poet offers no excuse, although the guide ingeniously 
accounted for it by affirming that " Kathleen wasn't Kathleen, but Satan in the 
disguise of a woman;" for that "no Irishman born and reared could do such 
a thing at all at all." 

As we neared "the bed," we noticed a female form high above it, and 
presently saw it skipping down the cliffs. '■ There's Kathleen ! " exclaimed 
the guide : and, for a moment, we looked to hear her " light foot nigh," and 
gaze upon " the smile that haunted the young saint." The Kathleen of the 
nineteenth is, however, we may presume, the very opposite to her of the sixth, 
century; or the "good saint" might not have been so cruel, after all. "The 
Bed " is a hole in a rock, on the side of the mountain of Lugduff, about thirty 
feet from the surface of the lake. The artist has assisted us to picture it. The 

with a carving upon it of a dog devouring a serpent. This stone, which Ledwich describes, was 
stolen on the 20th of August, 1S39, by a person in the garb of a gentleman. 



ST. KEVIN S BED. 



139 



ascent is exceedingly difficult, and somewhat dangerous : for a slip would in- 
evitably precipitate the adventurer into the lake below: yet the peril is scaicely 
sufficient to justify the character given of it by Dr. Ledwich ; " nothing," he 
says, " can be more frightful than a pilgrimage to the Bed. 5 ' We confess, 
nevertheless, that we picked our steps carefully, both up and down, and had 
little hesitation in taking the advice of Kathleen and the hand of "Wynder. 
The bed is abont four feet square, and the saint must have slept in a very un- 
comfortable position; at one end of it is a large, though shallow, cavity, " big 
enough," quoth our guide, "for the saint's head, if it was a thousand times 




st. Kevin's bed. 



bigger than his heart," which it surely was if he murdered his " lady-love." 
The bottom, top, and sides are literally tattooed with names and initials of 
daring pilgrims who have ventured there ; among the rest is the venerated 
signature of Walter Scott (W. S.) carved by his son, when the great "Magician 
of the North " visited Glendalough in 1825, in company with an associate 
scarcelv second in the world's honour, esteem, and love— Maria Edgeworth. 



140 



RHEFEART CHURCH. 



Midway up the cliff is a small jutting rock, called St. Kevin's Chair, where 
the wayfarer may take rest. 

Teampull-na-skellig is a ruin on the edge of the lake, close to the Bed ; 
so little of it now remains that a sturdy labourer might carry the whole of it 
away upon his shoulders. At the extreme end of the lake, and seen to great 
advantage from this spot, is a fine and graceful waterfall, that carries into it 
the collected streams of the adjacent mountain, which are again poured out, 
at the eastern extremity, into the lovely river Avonmore. There is another 
waterfall— the Poulanass — of considerable extent, but hidden among shrubs 
and trees between the mountains of Derrvbawn and Lugduff, a little above the 




EHEFEAKT CHURCH. 



church of Rhefeart. And this Chtjrch of Rhefeart — or, as it is usually 
called, " the sepulchre of the kings " — in which lie interred generations of the 
O'Tooles, is perhaps the most striking and interesting of the ancient remains ; 
although time has left barely enough of it to indicate the extent of its consc- 



ST. KEVIN S CELL. 



141 



crated ground. It stands south of the glen that separates the two lakes,' 
and bears token of very remote antiquity. The interior is thronged with 
briars and nnderwood, that, in many instances, completely conceal the graves 
of which it is full. On one of the most remarkable — an oblong slab, much 
broken — may still be traced the letters which indicate that it once bore this 
inscription, in Irish characters : — 

Jesus Christ. 

Mile Deach feuch corp re Mac Mthuil. 

(Behold the resting-place of the hody of King Mac Toole, who died in Jesus Christ, 1010. 

Near to the Rhefeart church is another piece of ruin — a circle of stones ; but 
the most singular relic of this description is just above the waterfall of Poula- 
nass and nearly between the two mountains of Lugduff and Derrybawn. It is 
known as St. Kevin's Cell, and consists of masses of flat stones, heaped one 







ST. KEVINS CELL. 



above another, and forming a circle, in the centre of which is a rude cross — 
or rather the relic of it, for time has mouldered it almost to a shapeless mass. 
And from this point, the valley is seen to great advantage ; the cell is situated 



142 



GLENMALURE. 



in a rock, which juts forward, and exhibits the whole of the surrounding scenery 
in all directions. 

From this part of the lake, too, we have a splendid view of the overhanging 
mountains ; Derrybawn, Lugduff, Comaderry, and Broccagh. The two lakes 
are divided by a rich meadow. 




LENMALURE is a still wilder part of this district, which 
- from Glendalough must be gained by the military road over 
Derrybawn and Lugduff. The descent into the glen by 
the little inn at Dunngoff is among the wildest scenery 
'^ in Wicklow ; and whatever the impression left by our visit 
to Glendalough, and the peculiar interest belonging to its 
" gloomy lake " and group of ruins, we must admit that until we 
stood under the impending cliff that overhangs the entrance to Glen- 
malure we had not seen decidedly the most sublime pass in these moun- 
tains. On either side for three or four miles its precipitous sides are 
formed of weather-worn masses of granite, that in many places seem 
ready to spring from their dizzy heights into the bed of the Avoubeg, which 
has its rise in Loughfinogefin, and after bounding down the fall called the Ess 
at the north extremity of the glen, and receiving the homage of its many 
tributaries in its troubled course, seems weary of the toil, and settles down 
near the Lead Mine into a sedate river, leisurely wandering from side to side 
of a narrow but luxuriant stripe of meadow-land, its own alluvial formation. 
Few tourists venture further up the glen than the Lead Mine, for beyond 
this no vehicle can proceed, though some thirty years since, however difficult 
and dangerous, it was not impossible to drive by this mountain track into the 
Glen of Imael. 

Erom the Lead Mine, looking up the river, we observed to the left what 
appeared to be another glen, not less romantic, but on approaching to explore it, 
it proved to be only a vast hollow in the side of Lugnaquilla, known to the 
peasantry as the Glen of the Faughan rock, from the abundant growth of this 
fruit-bearing little shrub, which crowns its rugged sides. 



GLENMALURE. H3 



Opposite the Lead Mine there are, except in very dry seasons, innumerable 
rills trickling down from the highest visible points on the west side of the 
Glen ; one more remarkable than the rest is the overflowing of what is called 
Kelly's Lough, evidently a corruption of Loughnaquilla,* which would appear 
to have given its name to the mountain, on whose steep side it lies under the 
dangerous path of the pedestrian, who will make the ascent from Drumgoff ; but 
let no inexperienced citizen attempt this feat without a guide, and he too a good 
cragsman and able to bear a well-stored canteen, for there grows on these 
mountains a description of "hungry grass " which if he happen to tread on 
and have not the means of satisfying the imperious demands it creates, he may 
not only not be able to proceed, but perhaps be unable to retrace his path 
without assistance. A pocket mariner's compass may be at times most useful 
on such expeditions, as these hills will suddenly even in fine weather have their 
heights enveloped in dense fog or drifting mists. From the highest point of 
Lugnaquilla, which is marked by a flat rock called Pierce's Table, may 
be had distant views of parts of the Counties of Wexford, Kilkenny, 
Carlow, Kildare, and Dublin, and to the east that part of Wicklow lying 
between the great Sugarloaf and Arklow, St. George's Channel bounding the 
panoramic prospect. Walking a few paces to the west, from the brink of a fearful 
precipice, there is a fine view of the glen of Imael, once the seat of the kings of 
these fastnesses. The descent from Lugnaquilla may be made by the Ess water- 
fall at f.he head of the glen, but it will add some half dozen miles to the walk. 

Leaving Glenmalure, we follow the chequered life of the little Avon until we 
see it wedded to its more highborn neighbour at the " Meeting of the Waters ;" 
now winding its sinuous way through the rich meadow land of Eannaneirin and 
again struggling with the rude and ropky interruptions to its way under the 
woods of Balinacor, the pleasantly situated home of William Kemmis, jun. 
Esq. 

Crossing at Greenane, we keep the right bank, and pass under the church of 
Ballinatone, lower down Ballad Park, the residence of its chaplain, until we 
reach the little hamlet of Ballinaclash, where, recrossing, we still follow the 
stream until our road falls into the coach line as we enter the Vale of Avoca. 

If, however, after his visit to Glendalough the Tourist is willing to postpone 
his excursion to Glenmalure, and reach the Yale of Avoca by a more easy and 

* Now Lugnaquilla. 



1U 



THE MEETING OF THE WATERS. 



a shorter way, he will follow the course of the Avonmore down the Vale of 
Clara, which affords a variety of the more quiet though still beautiful scenery 
of the country. The little nest of cottages which gives a name to the valley 
stands on the opposite bank, where our road has gained a considerable height 
over the course of the river ; and looking down on its little chapel surrounded 
with trees, reflected with its old bridge in the smooth water, it has an inex- 
pressible character of repose. We now keep our way far above the river side 
until we reach Rathdrum, itself standing on very high land. The town has 
little to recommend it to the notice of the Tourist, his path here lying across the 
mail coach line. Still keeping the course of the river, leaving the public road 
lie enters the demesne of Avondale, through which the proprietor, John Parnell, 
Esq. generously permits a passage of more than two miles to the Lion Bridge 
under Castle Howard. It has been said of this drive that more care bestowed 
upon the demesne would enhance its beauties, but it may well be doubted 
whether, if the hand of art were made more visible, we should not lose the very 
characteristic for which the lover of Nature will prize it most. Should the 
Tourist prefer the public road from Rathdrum, he will pass by the Casino, 
Kingston, and Avon Hill, and he will as he approaches the Vale have the best 
view of the commanding position of Castle Howard. 




mind that 



HE meeting of the waters" commences the Vale of 
Avoca ; which extends, a distance of about seven miles, 
almost into Arklow. The genius of Moore has immor- 
talised the spot ; but those who approach it with imagina- 
tions excited by the graceful and touching verses of the 
poet, will be inevitably disappointed ; unless they bear in 



" 'Twas not the soft magic of streamlet or hill " 

which gave " enchantment " to the scene, so much as " the friends 
of his bosom," who were " near ; " where Nature was " charming," 
chiefly because her charms had been 

" Reflected from looks that we lore ; " 

— spells that might convert a desert into a paradise. Not that the place of 



THE AVOCA. 145 



meeting is without beauty ; far from it ; but its attractions are small in com- 
parison with those of other places in its immediate neighbourhood. It is, 
however, the opening to a scene of exceeding loveliness ; " a valley so sweet," 
as scarcely to require the poet's aid to induce a belief that nothing in " the 
wide world " can surpass it in grandeur and beauty. The visitor will pause a 
while, at the pretty and picturesque bridge, under which roll the blended 
waters of the Avonmore and the Avonbeg ; forming here a placid lake, (in the 
centre of which is a small island, covered with underwood,) as if the rivers 
lingered for a first and last embrace, before they ceased their separate existence, 
and under a new name, the Avoca, rushed together to the sea. Upon their 
calm and quiet " meeting," the mountains look down — one, in the distance, 
bleak and barren ; the other immediately above them, mixing the dark hues of 
the fir with the light tints of the ash — " the brightest of green " — and flinging 
its subdued and gentle shadow, as if in sympathy, upon the tranquil union of 
a thousand torrents, here met, and " mingled in peace." 

The road leads along the west bank of the Avoca; on both sides the 
hill-steeps are clad with forest trees ; the opposite being especially rich. From 
above their thick foliage peep, occasionally, the turrets of some stately 
mansion ; beneath which the eye detects " clearings " skilfully formed, so that 
the best points of view may be obtained ; and, as the river takes a winding 
course, the means of amply examining the grace and splendour of the scenery 
are very frequent. Nearly midway in the valley, are the copper-mines of 
Cronbane and Ballymurtagh — the former to the left, and the latter to the 
right, at opposite sides of the river. A prettily situated inn, " The Avoca 
Hotel," is upon its margin. Scenery similar in character, yet perpetually 
varied, continues until the " second meeting- " is reached ; where the river 
is crossed by a handsome bridge, of stone, although the locality is still 
recognised by its ancient cognomen, " The Wooden Bridge." (The annexed 
view is from the height immediately above it, close to the church of Ballin- 
temple). And there is another inn (The Wooden Bridge Hotel) * at the 

* "The Wooden Bridge Inn" is comfortable; and the charges for "entertainment" are 
moderate. Two coaches pass by it, to and from Wexford, every day. The hotel, however, is 
generally so crowded with visitors in " the season," that it will he necessary for those who design 
to locate there, to order rooms, by letter, a few days before their arrival. Cars are, of course, 
to be had in abundance. 



146 



THE WOODEN BRIDGE. 



base of Knocknamokill, — a hill which the Tourist will do well to ascend ; for 
nowhere is the valley seen to greater advantage. A winding path, arched by 
the branches of finely grown trees, and bordered with myriads of wild flowers, 
conducts to the summit — and what a view ! Our readers may form some idea 
of it ; for here all we have been describing is taken in at a glance. 

From the Wooden Bridge to Aeklow, the river narrows and deepens ; and the 
trees being more directly over it, a darker shadow is thrown along the waters. 




1UE WOODEN BRIDGE. 



The woods of Glenart, the seat of Lord Carysfort, are to the right ; on the 
other side of the Avoca is Shelton Abbey, the mansion of the Earl of 
Wicklow. It is a very elegant structure, situated almost on the margin of 
the river. But the district through which we are now passing, although a 
continuation of the Vale of Avoca, is properly the Vale of Arklow; and it 
leads almost into the town, where we are again introduced to the arid and 
coarse features of the countv, which continue until its borders are reached and 



VALE OF AVOCA. 



147 



we enter the county of "Wexford. Arklow has the aspect of a thriving town ; 
but, like all the harbours between Dublin and Waterford, it has the dis- 
advantage of a bar. The remains of an ancient castle still exist ; but of its 
once famous abbey there are now scarcely the traces left ; * and here the Avoca 
passes under a bridge of thirteen arches. 




IN THE VALE OF AVOCA. 



To visit Shelton Abbey, we must cross the Avoca, at Arklow, and after 
passing the old church of Kilbride to the left, where stands a lofty pyramid, the 
Howard family mausoleum, we enter the plantations, and are permitted a 
drive of three miles through the demesne, passing near the handsome abbey 
mansion of the noble proprietor, of which we had but a glimpse on our way 
down on the opposite side of the river. The pleasure-grounds are delightfully 
circumstanced and most tastefully cultivated. On leaving the demesne by the 
west gate, we are again on the public road for less than half a mile until we enter 
the woods and demesne of Ballyarthur, the residence of E. S. Bayley, Esq. 
Here are some points from which the finest views of the Vale of Avoca are to 
be obtained; and first, through the plantations near the mansion, we pass into 

* The castle was built and the abbey founded by Theobald Fitzwalter, fourth Lord Butler of 
Ireland. The castle repeatedly changed masters — according as the Irish or English had sufficient 
strength to take and retain it. It was "ruinated " by Oliver Cromwell, in 1649. 

L 2 



148 VALE OF AVOCA. 



a shaded "Walk of about a mile in length, to what is known here as the 
Octagon, once the site of a rustic temple or banqueting house. 

From this, looking down over the lofty oaks, whose highest branches are at 
our feet, we see the whole course of the Avoca, from the second meeting at 
Wooden Bridge until it passes under the long bridge at Arklow into the sea. 
Returning to the mansion, we direct our maitre de poste to take the carriage- 
road to the first gate-lodge at the foot of the hill, while we, after a short walk, 
descend by a flight of some two hundred winding steps through the wood to 
the same place. Erom the top of this flight of steps are extensive views of 
another portion of the vale, not less beautiful, but of a different character from 
those we have just left. Looking up, we have the little wood-embosomed 
village of Newbridge, high over which are the red sterile rocks of Cronbane 
and Ballymurtagh copper mines, and beyond these the distant blue hills through 
which Glenmalure was rent at their creation. A glance down the vale before 
we descend ; on the other side is Castlemacadam church and the modem 
Elizabethan residence of its pastor, the latter built by the late Lord Powerscourt; 
and further down the pine-clad height of Knocknamokill, over the "Wooden Bridge 
Hotel, and " second meeting." Beyond these, the brown heights of Croghan 
Kinsella, at whose foot on this side are the old gold mines ; for that at Ballin- 
temple church, which is now worked, is some miles apart, and comparatively a 
recent discovery. 

We must now leave Ballyarthur, which of all the sylvan scenery in Wicklow 
will perhaps retain a place the longest in our memory. The drive is still 
through the wood, close to the river, at a considerable height, and we pass out 
under a castellated arch with a lofty tower, and find ourselves at Newbridge, 
where we again cross the river and regain the coach-road. 



WICKLOW GOLD MINES. 



149 



the Tourist has leisure and inclination to visit a singular, 
but as far as the picturesque is concerned not an attrac- 
tive district, he must retrace his steps through the valley, 
and proceed up the mountains — the Croghan mountains 
— a chain that separates Wicklow from Wexford county — 
for about four miles, from the "Wooden Bridge." Passing 
a chapel prettily situated on the side of a hill, and looking 
down upon one of the loveliest of all the valleys, thronged 
with forest trees, and skirted on one side by the beautiful demesne of Lord 
Carysfort, we enter a remarkably wild district, in which are situated the 
original " Wicklow gold mines." Until the period of our visit, we confess we 
had fancied that only in the poet's verse we should find 




" our Lagenian mine, 

Where sparkles of golden splendour 
All over the surface shine." 

We were, as our readers will learn, greatly mistaken ; for we actually saw 
'gold — yellow, glittering, precious gold," dug from the bowels of the earth; 
weighed it in our palm, and were satisfied of its veritable existence ; * readily 
confiding in the truth of statements, that gold, to the value of many thousands 
of pounds, has been, from time to time, collected by the peasantry ; and that, 
within two months after the discovery, they made, by the sale of what they had 
gathered, no less than £10,000.f 

It does not appear that gold was found in any quantity until the autumn 
of 1796 ; when " a man crossing a brook found a piece in the stream weighing 
about half an ounce." The circumstance was noised abroad, and almost 
immediately every river, stream, and rivulet, for miles round the spot, was 



* That gold must have been obtained in considerable quantities by the ancient Irish is a fact 
beyond controversy. The spade of the peasant is continually delving up some precious relic of 
old times— crowns, corslets, bridles, chains, rings, torques, fibulae, bracelets ; and there is scarcely 
a private collection of antiquities in the kingdom that does not contain several specimens. Some 
of them are of considerable weight; Sir William Eetham refers to one that weighed 36 oz., and 
Mr. Petrie to another that weighed 27 oz. 9 dr. 

t This estimate is given on the authority of Mr. Fraser, author of a statistical survey of the 
county (.1S01). 



150 



NEW GOLD MINES. 



thronged by eager searchers after wealth ; the news ran, like wild-fire, through 
every district of the county. 

Soon afterwards, two companies of the Kildare Militia took possession of the 
ground by order of Government ; a sum of money having been issued for the 




purpose of conducting the works upon scientific principles; "a separate 
account being kept in the Exchequer of the receipts, in order that it might be 
given to whoever might be entitled thereto ; " but the experiment was com- 
paratively unsuccessful — the produce of the mine during these operations 



MINERAL TREASURES. 



151 



amounting to little more than £3,500 ; in 1798 they were discontinued, in 
consequence of the disturbed state of the county; and although partially 
resumed in 1800, the result was so unsatisfactory, that the attempt at further 
discoveries was relinquished, and the mine was abandoned. 

Since this abandonment — a period of more than fifty years — the peasantry 
have still, occasionally, found morsels of the precious metal. At first, the 
pursuit was resumed with exceeding avidity, but the appetite grew less and 
less strong as the chances of discoveries diminished ; and although now and 
then a group might have been noticed raking the debris which the streams 
had brought from the mountains — or, more frequently, a solitary wanderer 
detected scraping the edges of the current, and peering with longing eyes 
into the mud and gravel of the river — the people generally had returned 
to the more profitable labour of drawing riches from the earth by the spade 
and plough. About the year 1840, however, a company, formed in London, 
took a lease of the district, and worked the mines under the superintendence 
of a practical miner from Cornwall ; but some miles distant from the place 
where the original Gold Mines were worked. They were still conducted upon 
a small and poor scale with variable success ; scarcely, indeed, a remove from 
the rough process of the peasantry, making no attempt to trace the gold to 
its source, but contenting themselves with obtaining as much as they could from 
the clay that borders the stream. Yet the scene was one of exceeding interest; 
of which the accompanying sketch will convey some idea. 




ET us here glance for a moment at some of the mineral 
treasures in which Ireland is proverbially rich. Of these 
the most important is fuel. Bog and turf are words so 
often associated with the name of Ireland, that the impor- 
tance and extent of her coal-fields are greatly underrated. 
The total area of bog is estimated at 2,830,000 acres, 
scattered in different localities, — sometimes in small patches, at other 
times, as in the Bog of Allen, covering a vast tract. Sometimes the 
bog is scarcely thicker than the sod that grows upon it ; and at other 
times it is of great depth. Sometimes it is comparatively solid, at 
other times it makes what are called "shaking bogs," forming vast 



152 MINERAL TREASURES. 



territories floating upon subterranean lakes. In endeavouring to make rail- 
roads through some of these bogs, thousands of cartloads of stones and earth have 
been swallowed up without making any perceptible difference, and in most such 
cases it has become necessary to sink into these insatiable quagmires immense 
numbers of rafts or frames of timber bound together, to make a kind of founda- 
tion upon which earth and other materials were afterwards thrown. Nor are 
bogs, as generally supposed, confined only to low levels ; but on the contrary, 
above a million and a quarter of acres of bog form the tops or sides of moan- 
tains, generally at a considerable elevation above the sea. 

The principal coal-fields are seven in number. Ireland boasts of possessing 
the largest field in the empire, perhaps in the world. It extends over portions 
of the counties of Limerick, Clare, Kerry, and Cork. The coal-fields of 
Leinster occupy portions of Kilkenny, Queen's County, and Carlow, and join 
those of Tipperary. There are three in Ulster; and the principal one in 
Connaught covers 140,000 acres, and lies in the counties of Roscommon, Sligo, 
Leitrim and Cavan. A great portion of the coal of Ireland consists of stone coal 
or Anthracite, a species of coal that burns without flame. From the neglect of 
modern improvements and machinery, or from the want of capital, the coal 
mines do not fill nearly as important a position among the sources of national 
wealth as they ought certainly to do. And whilst Ireland not only could 
supply her own wants, but enjoy a valuable export trade, much of the coal used 
is imported from England and Scotland. 

Iron is also abundant in Ireland; and the position of the iron-fields is 
particularly felicitous. In other places the various requisites for extracting 
the iron from the ore must be brought from a distance : in Ireland they are 
situated nearly together. Thus the coal and iron fields lie in close juxtaposition. 
Water is close by, either as a power or means of transport. Bogs are also at 
hand, and capable of furnishing any quantity of the best charcoal for the purpose 
of smelting ; and so is limestone, which is indispensable, and in England must be 
often procured with difficulty. Let us instance the Arigna mines. Their 
ore contains 40 per cent, of metal, whilst the Staffordshire ores contain only 
28 per cent. They are situated close to Lough Allen and the Shannon. Thus 
their produce can be transported with ease to any part of the island ; and the 
Railroad Commissioners in 1838 estimate the coal-fields by which these mines are 
surrounded at 20,000 acres, equal to 20 million tons of coal. The richest ore 



MINERAL TREASURES. 



153 



is close to the surface, and is exposed in the bed of the Arigna river in many 
places by the mere action of the stream. 

The copper-mines are distributed in different localities, principally in Wicklow 
and Waterford ; and in the county of Cork, at Berehaven in Bantry Bay ; and 
at Skull not far from Cape Clear ; but better known from its proximity to ill- 
fated Skibbereen* The quantity of Irish copper ore sold in Swansea for some 
years past averages something more than 10,000 tons each year, at an annual 
value of about 70,000/. 

But the lead-mines of Ireland are of more value. The ore is sometimes so 
rich in silver as to be called silver-lead ore. The total quantity of silver 
obtained by the Mining Company of Ireland in 185.1 was 3,860 oz., producing 
upwards of 1,000/., and the richest silver-lead ore is that from the Kilbricken 
mine, which produces about 120 oz. of silver to the ton of lead. Lead ore is 
scattered all over the island ; but in small quantities. The quantity of metal 
smelted by the Mining Company of Ireland at Ballycorus in 1851 was 674 tons, 
which produced 460 tons of lead. 

The Mining Company of Ireland are now working no less than thirteen mines 
in this country, and with what success may be estimated from the quotation of 
their shares in the money market (April 1853) : — 



PAID UP 


SELLS FOR 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 


7 0.. 


. . 22 


1 17 6 . . 


..600 



Mining Company of Ireland . 
General Mining Company 

In addition to these mines, native gold (as we have shown) exists ; and was 
once found so plentifully by the peasantry in Wicklow that they obtained more 
than 10,000/. worth in a single year. The annual produce is now, however, 
small. There are also mines in Ireland of antimony, manganese in several 
localities, zinc, bismuth, nicklel and chrome. Slate quarries are abundant, and 

* It -was principally in this locality that Colonel Hall (the father of one of the authors of 
this work, and to whom we have made more distinct reference in treating of the mines at Killaney, ) 
discovered and opened several mines ; that at Kippagh, and that at Balleydehob, (both about 
eight miles from Skibbereen,) he discovered and worked : the first named of these two yielded a 
quantity of malachite quite as fine as the Russian. Colonel Hall, as we have elsewhere observed, 
was the pioneer who led the way to more fortunate followers. Although he raised ore in Ireland, 
and sold it in Swansea, to the value of about 400,000?., his speculations were unfortunately dis- 
astrous to himself and his family. Yet his example was not without beneficial effects to Ireland ; 
and unquestionably showed what English energy, enterprise, and capital might achieve in 
that richly endowed country. 



J 54 MINERAL THE Ai TIRES. 



also marbles; beautiful specimens of which may be seen set in panels in the 
hall of the Museum of Irish Industry, 51, Stephen's Green East, which is opea 
to the public free of charge. A visit there will well repay the geologist, and 
give him an excellent idea of Irish mineral productions. Ireland has also some 
excellent pottery clays, admirable sand (for castings and foundry work), in the 
neighbourhood of Belfast, often exported to England and Scotland; flags, 
granites, and buildingston.es of a very superior description. 

All these industrial resources are gradually becoming known, and ere long 
will be a source of international exchange and mutual wealth. 

Wicklow is the only county of Ireland in which neither primary nor secondary 
limestone occurs. Nearly the whole country is covered by the mountains 
which skirt the great central limestone plain of Ireland on the south-east, and 
which may be regarded as part of a range extending from Dublin Bay to the 
junction of the Barrow and Suir, near Waterford. The central part of the 
range consists of a mass of granite, having its strike in the direction of the 
range, and crossing that of the slate, through which it protrudes, and the ends of 
which, although much scattered and confused, abut against the sides of the 
granite. The slate rocks occupy the rest of the country on each side of the 
granite, and form mountains of less elevation, extending towards the sea on 
the one hand, and the limestone plain on the other, so that the country is wholly 
occupied by crystalline or schistose rocks. 

The metalliferous clay-slate district extends in a narrow line from Croghan 
Kinsella on the south, to the sea at Killiney Hills (Co. Dublin) on the north. 
Metallic substances are diffused throughout this space in slight layers, in veins, 
or in massy beds ; the last are generally copper or iron pyrites. In the granite 
and mica slate, ores of lead and copper are found. The granite is generally 
remarkably pure ; it occupies a track of varying breadth, of from seven to 
fourteen miles, and protrudes in isolated masses in the district occupied by the 
clay 'slate. It is not unfrequently porphyritic, as in Glen Cree and Glen Maca- 
nas. Schorl tourmaline, garnet, beryl, rock-crystal, epidote, heavy- spar, 
magnetic-iron ore, galena, copper and iron pyrites, and other minerals are 
found in small portions. 

The mica slate district, on the eastern flank of the granite, seldom exceeds 
three miles in breadth, and generally passes into clay slate. Hornblende, 
hornblende-slate, grenatite, emery, andalusite, hollow spar, talc-slate, which is 



quarried for chimney-pieces, hearth, and grave stones, and veins of quartz 
occur in the mica-slate. 

The metals obtained in the clay-slate are gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, zinc, 
tin, tungsten, manganese, arsenic, and antimony. 

The eastern flank of the mountains presents a varied aspect, being worn 
into deep glens and dells, bounded by abrupt precipices or occupied by lakes ; 
while the western flank presents less variety, the glens and valleys being 
more expanded and less picturesque. 




^TRACING our steps through the Yale of Avoca, and 
taking again part of the route back towards Dublin, we 
pass through Rathdrum to Rathisew, leaving to the right, 
about two miles distant, the town of Wicklow — the 
capital of the county, but inferior in size and population 
to both Arklow and Bray.* 

* On these shores the harnacle is often found ; it resembles a wild goose. It 
feeds on the tuberous roots of an aquatic grass, which is full of saccharine juice ; 
and instead of the rank taste of other sea-fowl, which feed partly on fish, this bird 
acquires from its aliment a delicate flavour, that renders it highly prized. But the 
circumstance which long made it an object of the highest curiosity, was an idea that 
it was not produced in the usual way, from the egg of a similar parent, but that 
it was the preternatural production of a shell-fish, called a barnacle. This sin- 
gular absurdity is not to be charged to the Irish ; it was first published to the world by Giraldus 
Cambrensis, who accompanied the early invaders, and saw the bird in this place. It was received 
with avidity in England, and set down among other specioso miracula of the new and barbarous 
country, where everything was wild and monstrous. The shell supposed to produce it is fre- 
quently found on this coast, adhering to logs of wood and other substances which have remained 
long in sea water; it is attached by a fleshy membrane at one end, and from the other issues a 
fibrous beard, which curls round the shell, and has a distant resemblance to the feathers of a 
fowl ; on this circumstance the story was founded. So late as the time of Gerard the botanist, 
it was firmly believed by the naturalists in England. In a folio edition of Gerard's works, there 
is a long account of this prodigious birth, which he prefaces by saying, " What mine eyes have 
seen, and mine hands have touched, that I will declare;" and he accompanies his description 
with a plate, representing one of these birds hanging by its head to a barnacle-shell, as just 
excluded from it, and dropping into the sea. This fishy origin of the bird rendered it an object 
of ecclesiastical controversy. It was disputed with much warmth in England, before the Refor- 
mation, that this Irish bird, having a fish for its parent, was not properly flesh, and so might be 
eaten with perfect propriety on fast-days ; hence this delicious meat was an allowed luxury, in 
which many worthy ecclesiastics conscientiously indulged, in Lent. One learned man made a 
syllogism to defend his practice : " Whatever is naturally born of flesh is flesh, but this bird hath 
no such origin, therefore it is not flesh." Another retorted on him by the following ingenious 



15G the devil's glen. 



Eor several miles round Rathnew the scenery is especially beautiful ; it is 
however, a poor village, but there are two good inns in its immediate neigh- 
bourhood — one at Ashford, and one at Newarth Bridge, both exceedingly 
comfortable and well conducted * 

About two miles from the inn at Newarth Bridge, and one from the village 
of Ashford, commences the entrance to "the Devil's Glen," or rather to that 
side of it which is the property of Charles Tottenham, Esq.; for the river 
divides it ; the opposite land belonging to Francis Synge, Esq. Mr. Tottenham 
requires that all visitors shall leave their names at his Lodge, where an order 
for admission into the glen is given by the lodge-keeper, a kindly and gossiping 
dame, in whose company the stranger may spend a few minutes very profitably. 
A narrow road — but not too narrow for ordinary carriages — shadowed all the 
way by luxuriant trees, runs, for nearly a mile, to the iron gate that bars the 
passage of all intruders ; but where a call for admission is at once answered. 
As we enter (the overhanging foliage has hitherto concealed its character), the 
scene that at once bursts upon the sight is inconceivably grand and beautiful. 
We are between two huge mountains, the precipitous sides of the one being 
covered with the finest forest trees, of innumerable forms and hues, the greater 
number having been planted by the hand of Nature ; but where she had mani- 
fested neglect or indifference, Art has acted as a skilful and judicious attendant, 
and provided a remedy for the omission. The other mountain is rugged and 
half-naked; huge masses of uncovered stone jutting out over the brawling 
river, into which they seem ready to fall, and where gigantic rocks have already 
striven to stay the onward progress of the wrathful current — in vain. How 
striking and how exquisite is the contrast between the side rich in foliage, and 
that which still continues bare ! for 

" Green leaves were here : 
But 'twas the foliage of the rocks, the birch, 
The yew, the holly, and the bright green thorn, 
With hanging islands of resplendent furze : " 



position: "If a man," said he, "were disposed to eat part of Adam's thigh, he would not be 
justified, I imagine, because Adam was not born from a parent of flesh." So universal was this 
belief in the extraordinary origin of the bird, that its supposed parent, the shell-fish, is called by 
conchologists lepas ansifera, " the goose-bearing lepas." 

* Not far from Newarth Bridge is Rosanna, long the residence of Mrs. Tighe, the author of 
"Psyche." Mrs. Tighe died at Woodstock, in the county of Kilkenny, in the spring of 1810, 
bequeathing to the world a volume of pure thoughts, conveyed in graceful and eloquent verse. 



the devil's glen. 157 


while between both, at 
rapid river, brawling so 


a prodigious depth below their summits, rushes the 
loudly as to drown the music of the birds ; now a mass 


n 


iBfc 


,i'; ; lpBS IBsfe! 


lilP' JhK^' 






gJfflWfe ■ ' 'W^l^ 


:-U|K - 


i&^llM v Tvi 


'"'''-W 4'* ^ '• 


.^^!^w ^ l 






..,'.-' ; './,,V>l 


^^^Plli^^P"*' "^ K 




THE DEVIL'S GLEN. 


of foam, now subsiding 


• into a calm miniature lake, where the trout find rest, 


and where the water is 


so clear that you may count their silver fins beneath it. 


1 The glen is little more 


than a mile in length; and midway a small moss-house 


'. has been erected ; to our minds, the structure — although exceedingly simple — 
i disturbed the perfect solitude of the place ; where the work of the artificer 


! ought not to be recognised. But this evil is insignificant compared to one, of 

! 



158 



THE WATERFALL IN THE GLEN. 



very recent origin, against which we may justly enter our protest — a wide 
carriage road has been constructed all through the glen ; stolen partly from 
the river's bed, and partly from the mountain's base ! Alas for the sylphs and 
dryads who have had their dwelling here ! Alas for those who love untouched 
and untainted nature ! Let us hope that the river, exasperated beyond 
control, will avenge itself upon the insolent engineer, who sought to restrain 
a mountain torrent within " licensed bounds." And this result is, indeed, to be 
looked for ; the waterfall at the head of the glen, that dances so joyously and 
so " orderly " in summer, must be, in winter, a mighty cataract, full of fury, 
that no barrier, the work of man, can be expected to withstand. 

Nothing in the county of Wicklow astonished us, or gratified us, so much 
is the Devil's Glen ; with its roaring river, its huge precipices, its circuitous 
: ^jggg paths, and the noble and grace- 

ful "fall," that seems as a 
crown of glory to its head. It 
is impossible for language to 
convey a notion of our delight, 
when we had climbed the 
mountain steep — by the tangled 
footway that ascends from the 
moss-house — and gazed below 
and around us. It is perhaps 
the most graceful, if not the 
most stupendous, of the Wick- 
low cataracts; it comes rush- 
ing and roaring down from the 
heights above, between rocks, 
through which it would seem 
to have worn a channel ; then, 
as elsewhere, pausing awhile as 
if to gather a sufficient force 
with which to move onwards ; 
and then dashing aside every 

impediment that would bar its progress to the sea. •■ 

Header, to reach it is, literally, but a day's joub.net from London ! 




IE WAI£BFALI IN THE GLEN. 



PEASANT GIRL. 



159 



As we were leaving 
the Glen, we encoun- 
tered one of the pret- 
tiest little girls we had 
seen in Ireland ; she was 
crossing a small brook 
— an offset, as it were, 
from the rushing river ; 
but as rapid, and brawl- 
ing as angrily, as the 
parent torrent, which 
it resembled in all save f 
its width. She was ^ 
completely enveloped in 
one of the huge cloaks 
of the country ; it had ^ 
heen flung on, carelessly Z 
and hastily, but it flow- 
ed round her form in 
a manner peculiarly 
graceful. Her attitude, 
as she stepped some- 
what cautiously over 
the mountain cascade, 
was so striking, that 
we strove to pencil it 
down; and the valu- 
able aid of an accomplished artist, Mr. Harvey, has rendered our sketch worthy 
to be laid before our readers .* 

The tunnel given in the accompanying sketch is on a terrace drive 
formed about fifteen years since by Mr. Synge, leading from the heights over 
Glemoke Castle nearly to the Waterfall. We regret much to add that this 
road is now all but impassable even to the adventurous pedestrian, the moun- 




PEASANT GIRL 



Within a short distance from the Glen. 



160 



THE OLD TUNNEL. 



tain torrents in that short time having in many places left scarcely a trace 
of it. 




TUP. OLD TUNNCL. 




UNBAN — the residence of the Rev. Dr. Fletcher — 
another of the wonders of Wicklow — is but a short distance 
from the Devil's Glen ; and scarcely lengthens the road to 
Newtown-Mount-Kennedy. It is a creation of nature 
rather than of art ; the hill to the west being covered to 
its summit with the indigenous oak forest of this county; the 
granite rocks — one of which, of stupendous height, called " the 
Lady's Rock," the artist has introduced into his picture — assume occa- 
sionally the most fantastic forms. The defile is a narrow pass between 
lofty hills ; in the several interstices of which trees have been planted, 
where there is, apparently, scarcely soil enough to cover their roots. 
As this part of Durban lies upon very high ground, no water flows through it 



THE LADIES' ROCK IN DTJNRAN. 



161 



—another variety in the characteristics of the county. The views from this 
point are most magnificent ; let us borrow the poet's aid to describe them :— 

" Oh! what a goodly scene ! 

***** 
And seats and lawns, the abbey and the wood, 
And cots and hamlets, and faint city-spire ; 
The channel there, the islands and white sails, 
Dim coasts, and cloud-like hills and shoreless ocean ! ' 







THE LADIES' ROCK IS DUNRAN. 

M 



1G2 



NEWTOWN-MOTJNT-KENNEPY. 




EWTOWN-MOUNT-KENNEDY, a large village, 
distant twenty -one miles from Dublin, is also sur- 
rounded by beautiful scenery ; within a mile and a 
half of it, in the demesne of Altadore, is a small 
glen called " the Hermitage," for which nature has 
done much, and art more. And here is another of 
the magnificent waterfalls for which the county is 
so famous. It is but one of many attractions in 
this delicious spot ; the grounds have been laid out with exceeding taste ; 

the walks through it are very varied ; 
and considerable judgment and skill 
have been exhibited in so planting 
and " trimming " — the one being even 
more necessary than the other where 
the growth is rapid and luxuriant — 
as to obtain a new and striking 
view almost at every step. A mile 
or two further on, is the rich vale 
of Delgany, extending to the sea, seen 
to great perfection from the main road, 
where it descends into the Glen of 
the Downs. Delgany is the property 
of the family La Touche, whose name 
has been long — and not in this county 
alone — synonymous with goodness ; for 
to nearly every branch of it may be 
applied a passage from the epitaph to 
one of its members — " Riches in his 
■waterfall at AiiADOEE. hands became general blessing." 

The family residence is Belle Yue, standing on the height to the sea-side of 
the Glen of the Downs, which is part of the beautiful demesne. At the very 
summit on a projecting rock, crowning this side of the Glen, stands a 
banqueting house — a striking object from the road beneath, looking like the 
outworks of some old castle, and commanding a panoramic view of considerable 




THE GLEN OF THE DOWNS. 



163 



extent, ranging from the great Sugar-loaf on the west, over the Scalp, Bray 
Head, and the whole coast to the town of Wicklow. 

The village of Delgany is, perhaps, of all the retreats in this county that 
where the lovers of repose and quiet enjoyment would locate themselves ; but 
there is no hotel here, and the visitor must seek a home in some of the neat 
white-washed cottages, of which the place is made up. It is the growth of 
years of care bestowed upon it by its presiding genius. 

There is a handsome church and rectory. In the former is a magnificently 
sculptured monument to the memory of one of the La Touche family, to whose 
bounty the parish is indebted for this place of worship .* 

From Delgany to the north termination of the Glen oe the Downs, the 
distance is but a mile or two ; and the public road runs through it. The glen 
is formed by 

two abrupt hills, ^--- v '..,;:-.- 

between twelve ^&¥ ■'::. 

and thirteen hun- 
dred feet high ; 
clothed with the 
most luxuriant 
foliage from the 
base to the sum- 
mit of each. 
To describe the 
scene would be 
but to ring the 
changes on the 
terms sublime 
and. beautiful ; 
but to no part 
of the county 




FK-JL: 



THE GLEN OF THE DOWNS 



* The visitor to Delgany should not omit to see this fine monument in the church, to the 
memory of the Rt. Hon. David La Touche, who died in 17S5. It is twenty-four feet high, and 
stands opposite the west entrance. On the entablature are placed three medallions, the centre 
representing David, the others Peter and John La Touche, Esqs. On one side stands a figure of 
Mrs. La Touche, holding a cornucopia; and a large life-sized figure of him to whose memory this 
splendid monument was raised, stands on a pedestal in a niche on the apex of the pediment. 



164 BRAY. 

could they be more justly applied. All along the valley, as elsewhere, we are 
accompanied by 

" The murmuring rivulet, and the hoarser strain 
Of waters rushing o'er the slippery rocks." 

The glen is of considerable extent ; and in leaving it we enter once more 
a district comparatively barren ; although, as we approach Dublin, the influence 
of cultivation is more apparent in changing the arid character of the soil, and 
giving the wild common the aspect of civilization. As we advance, from any 
of the heights, there is a glorious and cheering prospect of the sea ; mansions 
and cottages are more thickly scattered about the landscape ; and lofty moun- 
tains meet the eye from every point of view. 

Leaving to the left the romantic Dargle, we draw near the northern border 
of the county, — and before we quit it altogether, visit the town of Bray. Here 
the scenery assumes a new character : — a few steps from the main road, and we 
are upon the shore of St. George's Channel. 

Bray is the largest town of the county, and, from its proximity to Dublin, 
is extensively visited by persons in search either of the benefits of sea-air, or 
the enjoyment to be derived from beautiful scenery ; and here, in consequence, 
is " Quin's," one of the most splendid — and also comfortable — hotels in the 
kingdom. A large number of fishermen live in the neighbourhood of Bray; but 
unfortunately, the waut of a quay for shelter greatly militates against them — 
an evil for which we hope a remedy will be ere long provided. 

The immediate neighbourhood of Bray is thickly covered with the mansions 
of the resident gentry, and the villas to which the citizens, whose means admit 
of it, retire in the summer season. Amongst the former are Kilruddery House, 
the residence of the Earl of Meath, Hollybrook (Sir George Hodson, Bart.), 
Old Connaught (Lord Plunkett), Cork Abbey (Colonel Wingfield), St. Valory 
(Judge Crampton), and Bavenswell Brae (Isaac Weld, Esq.). Especially, in 
his drives about Bray, the Tourist will be sure to be brought through the small 
but beautiful demesne of Hollybrook, the seat of Sir George J. Hodson, Bart. 
The mansion is in the best style of Tudor architecture, with a terraced front 
overlooking a small lake, in which are reflected from different points the Great 
and Little Sugar-loaf Hills, the graceful outlines -of the house, or the fine old 
evergreens that add peculiar beauty to this little paradise. The drive from the 
east entrance is through a narrow glen, wooded with venerable oaks and other 



THE COUNTY BOUNDARIES. 165 

forest trees, at whose feet a brook finds its way, forming a number of minia- 
ture cascades. The pleasure grounds, parterres, and garden, are in the best 
possible taste, and kept most carefully. 

The railway from Dublin about to be opened, crosses the river near the sea, 
and will be continued to Bray Head along the sea shore and thence to Wicklow. 
The works at Bray Head are well worth a visit, affording many beautiful 
views in all directions. 




jERE we must, leave this lovely county of Wicklow; 
passing unnoticed innumerable objects, in describing any 
of which we might occupy pages. As we have said, 
" to picture adequately half its beauties would require a 
large and full volume." We trust, however, we have 
written enough, notwithstanding our limited space, to 
direct towards it the attention of the Tourist — a place 
so easily within reach from any part of England ; and a 
visit to which necessarily includes one to the Irish metropolis, so abundant in 
matter of the deepest interest to the antiquary, the man of science, the phi- 
lanthropist, and, in short, to all who have at heart the welfare of the country, 
and desire its moral, social, and physical advancement. 

As we have shown, a three-days' tour in this district will suffice for a careful 
examination of all its leading peculiarities of grandeur and beauty ; two days 
will introduce the Tourist to many of them ; and much may be seen in a single 
day's " run" from Dublin. 
The county of Wickow is bounded on the north by the county of Dublin, 
I on the south by the county of Wexford, on the west by the counties of 
Kildare and Carlow, and on the east by St. George's Channel. The population 
in 1841 amounted to 126,143; and in 1851, to 98,978. According to the 
Ordnance Survey, it comprises an area of 781 square miles, or 500,178 statute 
acres, viz., 280,393 arable, 200,754 uncultivated, 17,600 in plantation, 341 
in towns, 1,090 water. It is divided into the baronies of Arklow, Ballinacor, 
Newcastle, Half-Rathdown, Shilelagh, Lower Talbotstown and Upper Tal- 
botstown. 



166 



CONCLUSION. 




E have thus accompanied the Tourist to the Irish capital, 

and into one of the most picturesque of the Irish counties. 

Even if he journey no further through Ireland, he will 

have seen much of the country — its people, its peculiar 

character, its great and many natural advantages, and 

its large capabilities for good. ' If he see much — and 

doubtless he will — that yet demands improvement, he may be told of 

the vast advance that Ireland has been steadily making during the last 

ten years : and he will be led to hope that a closer and more intimate 

association with England will secure its on-progress and its consequent 

prosperity. 

Thus wrote Arthur Young, more than seventy years ago : " When old illi- 
beral jealousies are worn out, we shall be fully convinced that the benefit of 
Ireland is so intimately connected with the good of England, that we shall be 
as forward to give to that hitherto unhappy country as she can be to receive, 
iVom the firm conviction that whatever we there sow, will yield to us a most 
abundant harvest." 

That these "illiberal jealousies " are wearing out is certain. To some of the 
causes which have promoted a better understanding between the two countries 
we have made repeated reference : there can be none so effectual as frequent 
intercourse. What the consequence of the continual out-flow of the population 
of Ireland will be, it is impossible to say ; it cannot be altogether evil, for the 
places left vacant will be filled in time ; and while the Exodus enriches other 
lands with the labour which might have produced wealth at home, there will be 
a correspondent emigration into Ireland from the sister country, with its better 
habits, its improved systems and its ample capital, under the influence of which 



CONCLUSION. 167 



Ireland must ultimately and inevitably become the most productive, and con- 
sequently the most prosperous, of all the dominions of the crown. 

And this "frequent intercourse" cannot be less beneficial to England than 
it will be to Ireland. Ireland is as essentially "part and parcel" of the British 
Kingdom as either Yorkshire or Kent. Any legislation that can prejudice 
Ireland must be injurious to England. All distinctions that continue to con- 
sider the countries as two, cannot be otherwise than fatal to the welfare of 
both. They must be one, entirely and altogether, as Scotland and England are 
one. That much has been done to accomplish this great end, is certain : but it 
is also certain that much remains to do. 

It is mainly to the introduction of English enterprise and capital into 
Ireland, that we look for the prosperity of that country. Yarious unhappy 
circumstances have hitherto kept it back : but those who recal the terrible 
mischiefs wrought by " agitation" some ten or twenty years ago, will have 
noted the utter failure of the agitator now-a-days : his powers have dwindled 
with the decay of themes that gave him strength; "Irish grievances" have 
become all but nominal. With English enterprise to lead, and English 
capital to work, it will be easy to foresee a glorious and happy issue to 
Ireland. 

Capital will open its mines; establish its fisheries; make its rapid rivers 
auxiliaries to the manufacturer; double the produce of every acre of land; 
throng its harbours with vessels of trade ; and, above all, capital will promote 
emigration — not to the vague Canadas — the worse than uncertain America — 
the perilous and impracticable Australia : — capital will promote emigration into 
the land-tracks — longing to be fertile — which never yet sustained life in aught 
but the hare and the grouse ; but which, while they would largely repay cul- 
tivation, amply suffice to grow food for the whole surplus population of the 
country — a country which some people, unthinkingly arraigning the wisdom of 
Providence, have described as over populated with its millions of acres waste. 

If, then, comparing the social and political state of Ireland as it is with 
what it was, we find abundant reason to rejoice ; defective as it may be ; — 
in contrasting the present with the past, we are not beholding a vision, nor 
even indulging a wild fancy, if we see in the prospect advantages to which 
those already obtained are but as dust in the balance : bigotry loosing its hold : 
the undue or baneful influence of one mind over another mind ceasing : habits 



168 



CONCLUSION. 



of thrift and forethought becoming constitutional : industry receiving its full 
recompense: cultivation passing over the bogs and up the mountains : the law 
recognised as a guardian and a protector : the rights and duties of property 
fully understood and acknowledged : the rich trusting the poor, and the poor 
confiding in the rich : absenteeism no longer a weighty evil ; — capital circulating 
freely and securely, so as to render the great natural resources of Ireland 
available to the commercial, the agricultural, and the manufacturing interests 
of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland ! 




FINIS. 



t. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL, LOSDoS. 



New Edition, in 3 vols, super royal Svo., Price 31. 3s., cloth, gilt, 

IRELAND, 

ITS SCENERY, CHARACTER, &c. 

BY ME. AND MES. S. C. HALL. 

Illustrated by 48 Steel Engravings, after Drawings by T. Creswick, Bartlett, &c, 
500 exquisite Wood Engravings, and 18 Maps of the Counties. 



Critical $atiteg. 

« Ireland : its Scenery and Character, by Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Hall. — "Written 
professedly to induce the English to see Ireland and to judge for themselves ; and 
both their verbal description and their graphic illustrations are very likely to have 
that effect, which we are willing to assist by our commendation of the general spirit 
and execution of the work. . . . We may say, on the whole, that the literary, 
legendary, and antiquarian portions of the work are compiled with laudable diligence ; 
the illustrations, for the most part, are clear and interesting ; and the statements and 
opinions are in general as sensible, candid, and trustworthy as could be expected 
from writers who fairly confess their ' unwillingness to say anything discreditable to 
the country and the majority of its people.' " — Quarterly Review. 

" The book presents us with a body of facts relating to the sister kingdom, which, 
being the result of personal observation and investigation, ought at this moment to 
command the attentive consideration of all w r ho are interested in its welfare and 
prosperity. The work, too, abounds with illustrations, which are beautifully exe- 
cuted." — j" 



" The most popular work on the beauties and characteristics of Ireland, as a 
whole, which has appeared for many years. We must express our admiration of 
the very beautiful pictorial illustrations by which the work is enriched : they are 
deserving the highest praise, even in these days of artistic embellishment." — 
Morning Chronicle. 

(( In addition to these attractions, its topography is elegant ; and the illustrative 
maps, vignettes, and woodcuts, valuable as graphic accompaniments." — The Spectatw. 

" This is, without exception, the most beautifully illustrated publication of its 
class to which modern enterprise has given birth." — United Service Gazette. 



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MIDSUMMER EYE; 

& JFafrg Cale at iCobe. 
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Embellished with upwards of Two Hundred Engravings on Wood. 
The Designs by 

D. MACLISE, R.A. W. FROST, A.R.A. 
C. STANFIELD, R.A. F. W. TOPHAM. 
T. CRESWICK, A.R.A. KENNY MEADOWS. 

E. M. WARD, A.R.A. F. W. FAIRHOLT, F.S.A. 
A. ELMORE, A.R.A. &C. &C 





The 


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BASTIN. 




A. S. MASON 


J. 


WILLIAMS. 




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" One of the most beautiful books of the season in every essential that constitutes 
beauty." — Observer. 

u Midsummer Eve is one of the most captivating productions of its class which has 
issued from the press, even in these days of brilliant and gorgeous decoration." — 
Literary Gazette. 

" Literature and art, author, artist, and engraver, have exerted themselves to the 
utmost in the production of this exquisite volume." — Critic. 

" One of the most fitting presents for the youth of either sex, as eminently 
calculated for their improvement as their pleasure." — Builder. 



Complete in 2 vols., price 16s. each, 

PILGRIMAGES TO ENGLISH SHRINES. 

BY MRS. S. C. HALL. 

WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY F. W. FAIRHOLT, F.S.A. 
In 8vo., handsomely bound and gilt. 



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In Two Parts at 4s. each, or Complete in One Volume, Price 10s., cloth gilt, 

THE ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE 

OF THE 

GREAT EXHIBITION IN DUBLIN. 

Comprising a Series of Wood Engravings of the best and most prominent Specimens 
of Art Manufacture included in this National Exhibition. 



This Illustrated Catalogue — which the Committee, acting under the belief 
that it may be a powerful auxiliary to the movement on behalf of Art in Ireland, 
sanction by their authority and assist to circulate in the building — is published in 
association with the Art-Journal, and is thus issued at a price that, under other 
circumstances, would be impossible. 

The First Part consists of Thirty-two pages, comprising nearly Two Hundred 
Wood Engravings, and Six Engravings on Steel. 

The Second Part will be similar in character, and in contents, with the addition 
of an Introduction, &c. 

The Two Parts will be bound and issued as a Complete Volume ; but those who 
purchase the Parts separately will be furnished with a cover for binding at the 
price of Two Shillings and Sixpence. 

The price of the Volume, in a completed form, will be Ten Shillings. 

The Editor of the Art-Journal, and of this Illustrated Catalogue, presumes to 
state that, in thus again discharging a leading part of his duty (to promote and 
encourage improvements in Art) by worthily representing the second attempt to 
exhibit collectively the Art-Industry of the World — he looks for a recompense more 
to a conviction that he is rendering a public service, than to any profit to be 
derived therefrom. As in the case of the Catalogue of the Exhibition of 1851, the 
enormous necessary expense precludes the probability of commercial gain ; but the 
conductor of the Art- Journal could not permit the Exhibition in Dublin to be 
unrepresented ; and he trusts that a public support will aid the undertaking. His 
selections are made, generally, of objects the most suggestive as well as the most 
beautiful ; and the volume will, no doubt, be regarded as an additional text-book for 
the Manufacturer and the Artisan, and an "authority" for those who desire to 
procure the most graceful and useful of the productions of Art-Manufacture. 



LONDON : VIRTUE, HALL, AND YIRTUE, 25, PATERNOSTER ROW J 



JUST PUBLISHED, 

Handsomely printed in 2 vols, royal quarto, Illustrated with 53 Splendid Engravings 
on Steel. Price £3, cloth gilt, 

With, the approbation of Cardinal Wiseman and all the Catholic Bishops 
in Great Britain, 

THE HOLY BIBLE, 

TKANSLATED FROM THE LATIN VULGATE: 

With useful Notes, Critical, Historical, Controversial, and Explanatory, selected 
from the most eminent Commentators, and the most able and judicious Critics. 

By the late Rev. GEO. LEO HAYDOCK, and other Divines. 

The Text carefully collated with that of the Original Editions, and the 
Annotations abridged, 

By the very Rev. F. C. HTJSENBETH, D.D. V.G. 

CANON OF THE ENGLISH CHAPTEE. 



The Publishers of the present edition of the Holy Catholic Bible have deter- 
mined to produce a work which shall be alike worthy of the Church and of that 
extensive patronage they feel confident that an accurate and elegant copy of the 
Sacred Volume will receive at the hands of the numerous and intelligent body of 
Catholics in this country and the sister kingdom. 

As a guarantee for the care bestowed upon the editorial department, and the 
certainty that nothing has been inserted, omitted, or altered, in any way from the 
duly authorised text, they have only to refer to the name of the learned and pious 
Editor, supported as it is by the numerous testimonials he has received from the 
various dignitaries of the Church. 

In the number of the Embellishments and their high character as works of art, 
they venture to say that this edition is unrivalled. Large engravings, executed by 
artists of acknowledged eminence, and copied from paintings of those great masters 
whose talents have been in all ages, and in every country, devoted to the service of 
the Holy Church, are interspersed throughout the work, and form a gallery of art 
devoted to the highest and holiest purposes. 

For the beauty of the typography, and the superior quality of the paper, they 
appeal to the work itself. 



LONDON I HENHT AND CO., BARTHOLOMEW CLOSE J 
AND ALL BOOKSELLEKS. 



AUG 16 1902 



